The Colours of My Life
by Gollum4077
Summary: There was a half-human girl who changed young Pavel Chekov's life. Her name was Tess Moretti. Everything became colourful; and together, their lives took on many different shades… Chekov/OC
1. Tainted Beginnings

**THE COLOURS OF MY LIFE**

* * *

**VOLUME I- TESS**

Despite the fact I am nothing short of what's called a child prodigy, I find that people do not take me seriously. Okay, so most eight year olds cannot tell you the first 156 digits of pi by memory, or explain the diatomic mass of the Earth, or research equations as a hobby, but at least I have social skills on my side. Clearly, I'm no ordinary eight year old, not compared to real humans anyway. These people fascinate me. Some amuse me, some intrigue me, and some scare the stars out of me, but all of them I've learned from. Not that aliens aren't interesting too, I should know- I am one. I now know that because of this, people will probably give me funny looks for the rest of my life. Father says it's because I'm special. But really, it doesn't take that much brainpower (especially for me) to work out that patterned skin, pointy ears, and hair that changes colour all the time makes me something more than "special".

My appearance is without fail, always the first thing that causes surprise on first impression. While like other children, I carry the genetic traits of both my biological parents, it is the combination of their heritage that makes me very different, and prone to more attention that I think necessary. Let me explain: Galactrian beings, like my father have always been physically taller than the average human, meaning I have always stood higher than other children my age. My eyes, although grey from a distance, are in fact more than one colour, dotted with blues, greens, browns and golds; unlike my Galactrian cousins whose eyes are pure silver. And, like all Galactrians, my skin is marked with symbols of my ancestry; pale brown imprints patterns from my pointy-eared head down to my hands. And then there is my hair- my most interesting and noticeable feature. It never stays the one colour for too long; always changing according to what predominant emotion I feel. There is a whole colour scheme our people identify feelings with, but because I am so young, my hair is often one bright shade at a time. I won't explain all of that further though, because it's complex. Mother calls it 'rambling'.

Identifying with Earth culture has never been difficult; thanks to my human mother, but in many ways I am a Galactrian in spirit. I doubt many humans have heard of Galactrians before; a population of thirty two million eight hundred-thousand living on a planet the size of Earth's moon is not much of an empire. And fascinating as both planets are, it's nothing compared to travelling through space itself. Since my parents joined Starfleet, the discovery Starship _U.S.S. Phineas_ has been our family's home for nearly two years. It's incredible. We've discovered lots of strange technology and natural phenomenon's, which I won't go into. I might ramble again.

I know in many ways, I am different to other children. But being part of Starfleet makes everything in life seem different. I should know. It's changed my family's life.

* * *

...

**Chapter 1- Tainted Beginnings**

My feet hit the floor. Success. Thirty metres of corridor crossed by climbing only the parallel railings had my hair glowing violet with pride. A nearby pair of ensigns glared at me from their work station, prompting me to quickly slide under their desk and around the next corner. Navigating the buzzing Science sector of the_ Phineas_ was no easy task, so climbing up and around the more crowded levels of the ship was usually my best (and more entertaining) option. A few of the friendlier science cadets greeted me in the main corridor, who were used to my frequent comings and goings. Passing more familiar desks, my ears detected the sound I'd been searching for all afternoon; my mother's voice. Her back was turned, her attention directed towards three people huddled around some microscopes. I tip-toed extra quietly towards them, my white shirt and grey pants blending into the washed walls perfectly, my gold plait swinging behind me like a lioness' tail. I put a finger up to my lips when Ensign Baird, standing beside my mother, noticed my silent movements. He kept his head down in obedient ignorance, a smirk playing on his bearded face as my mother continued to talk. Silent as a mouse, I was now within reaching distance, ready to pounce, ready to roar, ready to-

'And it appears Tess has come to join our investigation.'

I froze as my mother turned on the spot. The ensigns around her chuckled at my failure and returned to their work as Mother's brown eyes twinkled triumphantly at me. My arms dropped and my hair turned bright red.

'Muuum! You were meant to be surprised!' I whined. She only kept smiling, a gesture I could almost never retaliate against. My Father struggled the same way; he said the only reason he could never argue with Mother's smile was because it was so beautiful.

'I'm sorry, sweetheart.' she replied, 'I'm sure I will be in for a fright next time around.'

'How did you know?' I demanded. Mother had always been good at reading people, something she did with me all too often. I had learned early in life the pointlessness of lying to my parents; my hair made a terrible poker face.

Mother cupped my head and pulled me in for a hug. 'This is a small ship, dear. You're never too far away from me.'

I huffed into the crook of her arm. 'Baird gave me away.'

Baird's booming laugh neither confirmed nor denied this. 'Never, Tess! Never!' he insisted, sticking both hands up innocently.

Not knowing how else to respond, I stuck my tongue out at him. 'I'll get you back.' I told him.

He only grinned again. 'Only if it's at old-school table tennis. How's that sound?'

At once, my hair was yellow as my Mother's. Table tennis was an exciting game. 'Sure thing!' We high-fived to our challenge just as our Captain's calm Southern lilt filled the PA system overhead.

'Attention all crew, this is Captain Louden. I am pleased to report that we will be arriving in Caleebra Sector Four in approximately thirty minutes. Operations Officers from the boarding party are required on the bridge for a briefing. We may expect representatives from the Caleebri High Council to join us on-board when the boarding party return, so best behaviour, ladies and gents. That is all, thank for your time.'

With some final instructions to Baird, Mother led me away to her small office. As second-in-command of the _Phineas'_ large science crew, her office was a small space of privacy away from the hustle-and-bustle of the workstation decks. I knew Mother wasn't usually busy at dinner hour, so with no work until my next stargazing tutorial, a whole half hour was perfect. Speculating what I had in mind, my mother pulled out her PADD.

'What book shall we read this evening, then?'

I thought over my options. 'Pride and Prejudice. I haven't finished that one yet.'

Mother smiled her classic smile again and nodded agreeably. 'It's still one of my favourites, you know. I've read it more times-'

'-than you can count, I know Mum.' My mother held very true to her European roots. Old Earth history fascinated her as much as it intrigued me. Things were so different back in 19th century Earth, everything was so strange. The way people talked and behaved and dressed, so conservative and formal. Like a completely different world, so my father claimed. But then again, he didn't know any better, for most of his life, Earth was a different world. We settled on the squashy office couch and began to read.

* * *

...

It was less than half an hour later that the alarms started wailing. The ceiling lights dimmed and the hallway flashed red. My hair went bright pink in surprise and I nearly fell off the couch as Mama quickly left my side. PADD in hand, I followed her out, watching from the door as crew ran up and down the hall in frenzy. Some were yelling orders and panicked words I couldn't understand. It all seemed strange; the boarding party had barely left the ship, my father, the ship's navigator, among them. What could have gone wrong? With no warning, the ship suddenly lurched sideways, and I slid into the door's edge. Beside me, Mama gripped a railing to keep her balance. She stopped a group of junior officers tapping into their station screens.  
'What's going on?!' she called.

'Caleebri rebels have taken over the city, ma'am!'

'They confronted the boarding party. And they're others!'

'We're being fired at, ma'am! We've just been called to battle stations!'

As the ship gave another almighty lurch, Mother reached inside her office for her communicator. Immediately I knew who she was calling.

'Moretti to Renko, Moretti to Renko. Come in, are you safe?! Sweetheart?' There were only two people my mother ever called sweetheart, and that was me and my father. I heard a crackle on the other end.

'Renko to Moretti. I'm still on the bridge.' I heard my father reply, his deep voice laced with distress. On the surface, my father appeared calmer than most Galactrians, even if his hair colour showed otherwise. But I knew this time, something was truly wrong. I didn't move from the doorway. 'Stay where you are, Claire.' he ordered. 'We're under attack. I've taken the helm, we're trying to return the boarding party to the ship now. Are you and Tess alright?'

My mother nodded. 'She's with me, love, we're fine.'

I heard a sigh of relief on the other side.

'What's going on?' my mother whispered.

'The Caleebri High Council was under siege by the hands of Sector Four rebels. The planet Malkyvia has also joined the revolt and occupied the area. We had no idea of the situation; consequently the Captain and boarding party were caught unawares. The _Phineas_ has been ordered to retreat, but the compromise of negotiating the return of the boarding party is of utmost importance.' There was a pause as Father called to someone on the bridge. 'We are currently being fired at from all sides.' he added calmly. I shouldn't have been able to hear the conversation, but my pointed ears were alert and able to hear my father's line from the bridge. The thought of foreign forces attacking us turned my hair maroon in worry. We hadn't done anything wrong; we were only on an investigative peacekeeping mission. 'Listen Claire,' my father explained, 'We're lingering on the edge of Caleebra's atmosphere, but we must retrieve the Captain. We've called battle stations and the _U.S.S. Numerance_ for assistance. I'm going in with the rescue party.'

My mother gasped. 'No, you are not going out there! Renko, they'll kill you!'

'I'm the only one with working data of the mainland; I will be able to navigate the location of the boarding party.' My father's voice was very firm now. There were only a handful of senior officers left on-board, my father was virtually in command. 'We must rescue the Captain and the boarding party, no matter what.'

But Mother would hear nothing of it. 'Even at your death? Sweetheart, don't go! Evacuate the crew if that's what it takes!'

The ship rocked to one side again, sending a few people outside tumbling to the floor. I watched Medical staff rush to help the injured. In the vague distance, I heard the intercom's repeated distress call to the _U.S.S. Numerance_. Would they even make it in time to help?

'Storage and Engineering's been hit hard, we're losing power!' a man shouted from the bridge. With a groaning shudder, the lights started to flicker and out of nowhere, the ceiling at the far end of the corridor began to crumble. I felt my mother's clammy hand pull me away from the doorway and into her office.

From her communicator, I heard my father's voice calling orders for someone else to take the comms.

'Sweetheart, I have to go.' he insisted. 'We need to beam down now. I'll be back soon, I promise.'

'Don't go. Please, Renko…' my mother pleaded, clenching the edge of her desk, clutching me to her side. Her face was white.

'Claire, we must not argue. We've called for evacuation, you need to coordinate and move the crew now. Miss Kingston from Medical is coming to get Tess and the Cameron children; they'll be safe together. Little love,' I raised my head the sound of my father's name for me. 'I know you are listening.' he murmured. 'You must be strong; stay in your Mother's office until Miss Kingston comes. Stick together and for your mother's safe, be safe. If you want to hear me, you only need to reach a thread out to my mind. I love you so much.' I swallowed an uncomfortable lump in my throat, my hair flickering maroon and fearful shades of pale blue. I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to stay at the helm, safe. He shouted a faraway order to somebody on the bridge then returned his attention back to us. 'I have to go, my girls. I'll be back for both of you both. I will.'

.

The line went dead. There was another crash, and another rumble rattled the ship. My mother pulled me closer and held both my shoulders, guiding me down to the floor by her desk. I gazed up at her. I had never seen my mother truly afraid before, but something about the gleam in her eyes alone told me she was. It terrified me even more.

She shook my shoulders. 'Esther, you heard your father, I need to help the evacuation. You will go with Miss Kingston and the Cameron children, and I'll contact you as soon as I can. Wait for them here, where it's safe, and don't you dare move anywhere else. Understand me?'

I nodded my acknowledgement, knowing that to lie or do my mother wrong was the worst thing I could possibly do. She blinked away a threatening tear from her wide brown eyes, and pulled me in for another hug. She butterfly kissed my head, which I responded to in turn. Even when stressed and frantic, her touch was the gentlest feeling I'd ever known. With that touch over my check, we shared one more "I love you", and then the feeling left me.

The door was sealed tight. I was alone. Scrunching my eyes shut, I tried with all my might to reach out a psychic link to my father, attempting to block out all the noise and feelings around me, like he had taught me to. Another blow to the ship forced my eyes open again, and I saw through the door what was left of the transport corridor. Cadets and officers ran through the shattered debris, clearing all space from their desks and cramming together in the safety labs across from me. My eyes searched the disaster for Miss Kingston, the crew-lady sent to mind me. She wasn't anywhere.

I waited for what felt like ages, and then I smelt it. The air. The air was different. It smelled of smoky material, strong rubber fumes, and nasty chemicals. It was only then my genius brain finally joined the dots; I was in the science sector, near labs full of burning materials and exploding chemicals.

I had to get out.

With the door sealed shut, logic told me to either deactivate the code or throw something until the door broke. Experience told me to work my way out instead of using force, so I punched in the door code, which surprisingly, worked. Remembering my PADD was still on my mother's desk; I grabbed it and made my way back to the party-destroyed hallway. I followed a group of medical officers up to the engineering decks and tripped towards the first abandoned computer I found. My PADD wasn't programmed with many of the ship's communication devices, but the engineering computer was. If I could stabilise the controls, I knew I could see where my parents were, and how I'd get to them. Before I could finish typing in the camera's authorisation code, an explosion from behind me pushed me to the cold metal floor. Everything seemed fuzzy and quiet. My head throbbed; I heard my heart pulsing in my ears. I couldn't see through the dark clouds of smoke, but I felt a railing near the computer body, and I held on. The deck was getting hot; I heard the crackles of fizzling surfaces and screaming voices somewhere nearby. The smoke was thick and raw and dry, it stung my eyes and made me cough. I didn't want to cry, and I didn't want to be scared- it seemed stupid and pointless. But everything hurt, and I wanted to see my parents, I wanted to hear them, I wanted it all to be alright. I didn't know any probabilities about attacks on Starships or survival rates in space, none of it seemed important. I missed my parents; I wanted them back, and I wanted this to stop. And after what felt like hours of blurred pictures, dull noises and burning heat, I stopped trying to hear my father's mind and my mother's voice, and just let go.

* * *

...

I'd never thought dying would be comfortable, not in a warzone at least. It was warmer and a lot softer than I'd imagined it. But I wasn't imagining. This was most strange, even my genius eight year old brain told me that something about this was weird. Whatever _this_ was. Somewhere further away, I heard a voice. It was accented and deep and calm. It was human, male, and… European… Eastern maybe? I couldn't be sure; everything was still dark and heavy, even breathing felt like an effort. The European man kept muttering, other voices joining him.

'Her hair's not black. She's still with us.' one of them announced in a low whisper.

'But, sir,' a woman said. 'I've never seen a colour like this before. I didn't even know pale green meant something.'

'It means she's sick.' the European man told them. 'It will probably stay so until she wakes up. You'll know when she does; she should be a brunette by then.'

'Remarkable.' the woman whispered.

'You're telling me. It's a wonder we got her back to Earth alive, let alone off the _Phineas_. The engineering deck was a wreck.'

'Have you heard anything from…?'

The beeping and blaring of machinery cut him off, louder than anything I'd heard since waking up. Around me, I heard the raking of something being pulled above me and the dull pattern of footsteps. The European man sighed.

'I must go. Parks and I have more inquiries to follow up.'

'What about your son? He's still waiting in the hall.'

'He can't come with me. He'll have to stay here.'

'In a hospital? With all these survivors?'

'Let him stay with the girl. He can keep her company.'

The man's voice faded somewhat, but soon enough, he returned with heavy footfalls and whispered to someone.

'That's the girl, Pavel. Her name is Tess.'

The voice that replied was soft and small. 'What's wrong with her, Papa?'

'She got very sick when the _Phineas_ was attacked. That's why her hair has turned pale. I'd like you to stay with her when she wakes up.'

'Will she talk to me?' the boy called Pavel, asked.

'I don't doubt she will. She's a smart girl, you know, nearly your age. I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about.'

'Okay, Papa.'

The quiet conversation was interrupted by a call from further away. 'Lieutenant Chekov! Victorivich Chekov! Report to Lieutenant Parks now!'

The man sighed deeply again. 'I will be back soon, Pascha. Be good.'

All of this I heard in the dark, but in my head, I felt the smallest pull of another mind near me, tugging gently at my subconscious like a soft woolen thread. It must have been the boy. I had no energy to reach out to him, but I knew he was there. Some boy called Pavel Chekov.

* * *

**A/N: Yo, so this is the up-teenth edit of this chapter, and I am happy to say with my education over (for now), I am currently editing and rewriting every chapter uploaded so far. It will likely take a while, but your reviews have kept me going, so thank you! This is still one of my favourite pieces of work, so Tess and Pavel have a lot ahead of them. **

**G. **


	2. Kicking The Blues

**Chapter 2: Trying to Kick the Blues**

Everything was hazy….fuzzy-like; and my eyes were still closed. My head throbbed, and I had a sick feeling. But I wasn't entirely sure it was a feeling that'd make me throw up. No, it was a feeling that wracked through my whole body. Something was wrong. But I couldn't quite remember what it was. The steady, monotonous sound of beeping machines was the dominant sound that kicked my highly advanced senses into action, and I slowly picked up other things that were going on.

A few people were talking or working at the other end of the room, footsteps steadily making their way to and from wherever they were going. Everything smelt very clean and sterilised. My hand slowly felt the surface I was laying on….definitely a bed. I decided to further investigate my surroundings by opening my eyes. Apparently sight accounts for 90% of your sensory actions. I tried the seemingly simple action, but it was harder than I thought- I was still very sleepy. But slowly, I opened them, and into the sight of my grey eyes came a white room, two machines on stands next to the bed. But what caught my attention a second later was the unfamiliar boy sitting next to me, staring at me quizzically. The boy looked around about my age. He was thin and gangly, with pale skin, a crop of curly light brown hair, and bright blue grey eyes. He had a slightly crooked smile as I stared at him, confused. With my haze (or lack) of emotions right now, goodness knows what colour my hair was. My guess was Olive- I wasn't feeling too good. I wearily tried to sit up in my bed.

'Umm…excuse me? Wh-where am I?' my voice was a bit croaky, and I started coughing the moment I had finished speaking, but I managed to stop it after a second or two. The boy still looked at me with some curiosity, a crooked smile playing on his lips. Why, was beyond me, but he answered me:

'We're in a Starfleet Sickbay, on Earth.' He had a thick European accent. The country, I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it sounded Eastern. Was that one of the voices I heard before? One of them sounded similar, but deeper, manly. Something about this voice though, was familiar.

At the word 'Earth', my mind began to whiz at lightning sped. Earth….I had never actually been to Earth, but I had learned much about it. I quickly scanned the room, and as I did, I did not recognise anyone from the _Phineas_. No familiar faces, no smiles, no- Mama and Papa! Where were they? They should be here, shouldn't they? I had no idea what had happened after I passed out. As my hair turned a sickly khaki colour; the boy stared at me in disbelief, strangely. But who was I to call someone strange? The way he was looking at me was something all too familiar to me. I looked back at him with worry.

'Wait, what happened? My Mama and Papa- have you seen them? Ensign Renko and Sophia Moretti?' I asked, almost pleadingly. He only looked more confused.

'You were on the _Phineas_, and your ship was attacked. The _Numerance_ came to rescue you. My Papa found you and brought you here. I do not know anything about your parents. Sorry.' He said the last bit with a hint of shame. Now this was unusual- a boy my age feeling the sympathy of an adult? Could it be? Surely not. But, maybe there was something special about this kid that I didn't know. And when I don't know something, I am always determined to find it out. I think my hair started to gain its faint orange glow of curiosity, because the boy was still staring at me.

'What's your name?' Kids are nearly always honest in everything they say, so I figured this was an okay way to do introductions. Heck, I really spend too much time around adults. The boy didn't seem to care though.

'My name is Pavel Andreivich Chekov.'

'That's a mouthful.' I blurted out quietly. I immediately regretted speaking my thoughts, something I don't usually do. I leave my hair to do that job for me; which is why it went a deep shade of red in embarrassment. Pavel raised his eyebrows, and that crooked smile of his just got bigger.

'Da, da, it is. But lots of Russians have big names.'

'Russian! That's what it is!' I said aloud, my hair going yellow in my temporary excitement and realisation. Well, that was _that_ question out of the way.

'What?'

'Your accent! I was trying to work out what it was.' Pavel looked somewhat surprised at my enthusiasm.

'So, you are Tess, no?'

'Uh huh. Esther Esme Claire Moretti. But everyone calls me Tess.' He nodded. My hair started to slowly return to its normal brunette state. Again, Pavel seemed surprised.

'How do you do that?' he asked curiously.

'Do what?' I replied naively. His question only made his point even clearer as my faint ginger shade of questioning returned.

'_That_. Change the colour of your hair. I've never seen anyone do that before.' He pointed at my head. I smiled, hair going yellow again, as I began to explain:

'Well, I'm half human, half Galactrian. Galactrians can change their hair colour according to what they feel. Like their main emotions.'

'What do the different colours mean?'

'I don't know all of them, but there are lots of different colours for certain feelings. My skin stays the same colour most of the time though. Though, I don't think it's meant to be this tanned.

'Is that why your skin is…...?'

'Marked?' It was the most sensible word to use for my condition. I assumed Pavel was too polite to say "tattooed". It would've been awkward. 'Yes.' I continued. 'But because I'm a hybrid, it doesn't show as much. The patterns are kind of nice though, I just don't like it when people stare at me.' Pavel seemed fascinated. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it, then hesitantly trying again.

'Can- can I see your patterns? I-I, I mean, the markings?' he asked innocently. I smiled. There wasn't really any harm; I decided I could trust him. Just the ones on my neck and shoulders were enough though. I still don't like people staring too much. As I began to lower the neck of my purple jumper, I heard footsteps coming in our direction, so I left my jumper in its original state. Pavel turned around, and I looked up as we saw two men and a woman walking towards my bed.

The men I didn't recognise, but I knew who the woman was. Her name was Amalie Kingston. She worked in my Mum's Science Unit, and she sometimes looked after me when my parents were busy. I really liked Amalie. She was always nice, and friendly. But as she approached us, I noticed she looked kind of upset. I didn't know why- maybe because of the attack on our ship. Her normally shining blue eyes were now shining with a sadness I couldn't work out. Her curly dark hair hung loosely around her pale face, and what was usually a smile on her happy face, was now set in a grimace of sorts. Despite the two men sharing a similar expression, I was happy, nonetheless to see my friend.

'Amalie!' I said gleefully, opening my arms for a hug. She embraced me tightly, although she seemed wary. I noticed a bandage wrapped around one of her wrists.

'Hey Tessie girl, are you okay? I was so worried.' Although she spoke softly, I could hear the emotion in her voice. I hugged her tighter as well.

'I'm okay. I was just talking to Pavel.' Amalie looked over at the boy sitting next to my bed, as did one of the men. Pavel grinned bashfully up at him. Amalie gazed down at me.

'I can tell. Listen honey, we need to talk about something.'

'Pavel, can you come with me please?' the younger man asked gently, his identical Russian accent softly encouraging his son. Pavel obediently stood up and gave me one last smile before walking out of the room with his father. Amalie sat on the edge of my bed, and the other man took Pavel's seat. I only noticed now he was carrying a package the size of a shoe box. Amalie looked at me seriously now. My hair slowly changed from yellow to the sickly khaki which signalled worry. Okay, this didn't look good. What did she want to talk about? A sudden thought struck me, only making my hair darker with emotion.

'Where're Mama and Papa? Are they here?'

Amalie and the man exchanged concerned looks out of the corner of their eyes. I didn't miss anything though, something was going on. Amalie made to speak.

'Tess, this is Mr. Thomas Park. He works at Starfleet.'

'Hi Tess, nice to meet you.' It was always kinda weird when adults spoke to me for the first time, cause usually they were aware of my genius nature; therefore, reactions varied. I was getting agitated.

'Where are Mama and Papa? Amalie?'

Amalie sighed. She shook her head, and then looked up at me, her eyes suddenly full of tears.

'Tessie, oh, Tessie, I am so sorry.' She whispered. 'When the Klingon's attacked our ship, they caused a lot of damage. A lot of people were hurt, and…well, a lot of people d-died.' Oh heck, she was trying to explain something to me like I was an average eight year old who didn't understand much. But I wasn't. I was me. Amalie knew me. What was she trying to hide from me?

'But where are Mama and Papa?' I repeated heatedly. Amalie looked at me full on.

'They're- they're not here Tess. I'm s-s-orry. Tess. There was lots of shooting, they damaged the ship so much, your mother was trying to get our team to help the Engineers, and…a-a beam was fired, there was an explosion, and the ch-chemicals were poisonous, and your mother…we couldn't get her to the _Numerance_ in time.'

'In time for what?' now I was truly, utterly confused. My hair was a teal shade. I had an idea of what she might've been leading to, but I couldn't be sure. This was very surreal. Amalie looked like she was going to break down any second.

'Oh, Tess! We couldn't save her. Your mother is…your mother is dead.'

Lengthy silence followed as I tried to take in what she was saying. It all made sense now. The way Mama had hugged me, held me tight. The way she told me she always loved me. That look she gave me. It was that face that she never would've given me in any other situation…..except for then. Her eyes were so- sad, so- remorseful. I couldn't understand it at first, but…..slowly, in all my eight-year-old innocence, I was coming to the realization that all of a sudden, my mother had just been taken from me. Forever

I looked at Amalie. She looked at me. She was crying silently, tears pouring down her face. My face suddenly went white, the marks and symbols went pale too, still that shade darker than the rest of my skin. My hair…well, at first, indigo- apathy- unknowing of how to react. Then- once the realisation hit me- shock. The palest of blues- that almost pure white. No. No, no, no, no, NO! Mama! My Mama! Gone?

'No….. no...…n-n-no!'

Amalie pulled me into a crushing embrace. But that was all I needed to feel. I needed to know she was holding me. When my Mama could not any longer. I still didn't know what to feel, but as suddenly as the shock had set in, the tears started to fall. Cascading down my own pale cheeks like there was no tomorrow. There hardly was as far as I was concerned. I just sat there in Amalie's arms, sobbing in our despair. Thomas Park just sat there, his head in his hands, almost unable to bear it himself. Little did I know, he was a friend and colleague of my parents. The pain was as harsh and terrible to him as it was to me. It was only several minutes later until I managed to choke a whispered question which burned inside me like a fire since being told my Mama was gone. Amalie had only talked about Mama. What about…?

'Wh-wh-where's Papa?' I sobbed into Amalie's shoulder. She also briefly ceased her crying, looking painfully into my eyes.

'Um…..I'm sorry Tessie, I-I don't know. Captain and his main crew were taken. I think. P-Park?' she turned to the older man sitting nearby, holding the box in an attempt to hold back his own tears.

'Yes. I'm sorry. Eight of the crew on the Bridge were killed in action. The remaining seven including the Captain, and Ensign Renko were taken hostage onto the Klingon Mother-ship. We….have no evidence of their condition; whether they're alive or not. We just- don't know. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.'

And with that, I only sobbed harder into Amalie's shoulder. She cried quietly with me, stroking my depressing navy blue hair. This was my life in ruins. Mama gone and Papa- missing- dead or dying. I did not know, nor did anyone else.

'Here.' said Park, holding out the box to me. 'These were the possessions that were found. They belonged to your mom and dad. They're yours to keep.' He placed the box on the bed. Amalie placed a hand over the box, indicating I should open it. But I shook my head.

'No, I don't want to. Not yet. Please. Not yet.'

Amalie and Park looked to each other. They shared an expression of understanding. It was going to take a while for all of this to really sink in. there would be a lot of adjustment, and acceptance of this tragedy.

I spent the rest of the day and night with Amalie by my side. When night time came, Thomas Park left. He had other important duties to attend to, unfortunately for him. It was quite clear he did not want to perform anymore tasks set to him. I didn't see Pavel, though his father did come in later to check on us. He had a quick word with Amalie while I lay on my bed, gripping my pillow, not wanting to let go in Amalie's brief absence. When she came back in with Pavel's father, they both sat down on the edge of my bed. I climbed back into Amalie's arms, and she cuddled me acceptingly. Then, she spoke to me.

'Tess, this is Pavel's father, Victorivich, but he said you can call him Vic. He wants to talk to you about some things that might happen soon. Is that alright sweetheart?' I nodded silently in response. My hair still that shockingly dark blue. Vic leaned in a little closer to us.

'Hello Tess. I'm Vic. I know how upset you are, my girl. We are too. I was wondering if I could ask you something?' he paused, but at my lack of response he continued. 'Now that you don't have any family on Earth, I was wondering…. if you wanted to come and live with me, my wife, and Pavel? We will stay in America for a little longer, but most of the time, we live in Russia. Would you like to stay with us? Because if you don't, you may have to live with another family, a family you may not know. I just want to know what you think of this.'

I finally looked up at him, after taking in his words. Live with them? In Russia? Russia was a long way away, but it was one of the Earth countries I wanted to visit when I would finally come to Earth. But, I was already here. And it was true: I didn't have anyone else. Not on Earth, and right now- I didn't feel like going back to Galactria, because everything there was kind of strict and not as much fun as what humans did at Starfleet. Maybe I could start a new life. I would have Pavel as a friend. Someone to talk to. That would be nice. But I would have different adults looking after me. I didn't know Pavel's Mama. Would I like her? There were so many questions. One of which I decided to speak aloud.

'But, can't I live with you Amalie?'

Amalie's face fell slightly. I know she didn't want to get rid of me, but she still loved me. I could tell in her eyes.

'Oh no Tess. I'm sorry. I have to keep working for Starfleet. I won't be able to look after you like I used to. I'm sorry my darling, but I can visit you if you want.'

That didn't sound too bad. I turned back to Vic.

'So, I could live with you then?'

'Yes Tess, we'd be very happy to have you in our home. And besides, I think Pavel would like to have a sister. He has three brothers, but they don't live with us now, they're much older.'

I smiled at the thought of Pavel.

'I don't know if I want a brother. Can he be my friend instead?'

Vic raised his eyebrows at the remark. 'Okay' he said. 'I think Pavel would like that too. It seems you two are friends already.'

Another question came into my head.

'If we're going to Russia, does that mean I have to speak Russian _all_ the time?'

Vic chuckled. 'Can you speak Russian Tess?' he asked, though not accusingly.

'Yes, I can speak it very well.' I said in perfect Russian, with the first cheeky smile I had borne in many hours, with my hair faintly glowing violet with pride. Vic laughed even more, and Amalie laughed too.

'Well then my girl, it seems you shall be fine. You may speak English if you want. You can help teach Pavel. Tell me, how many languages can you speak?'

'Seven. English, Galactrian, Italian, Russian, French, Mandarin, and Vulcan.' I said with even more pride.

'Wow.' Vic exclaimed with astonishment. 'That is impressive. So, my talented Tess, would you like to stay with us for a while?'

I thought about it some more, and then I gave my answer, with another question on the end.

'Okay. But if I do, can I still look for my Papa? Just to make sure he's okay?'

Vic and Amalie exchanged glances. But they both looked at me with comforting smiles.

'Yes Tess. We will help you find your father. No matter what it takes. We will always be there.'

'Thank you.' Amalie said on my behalf, for I could not find words- something most unusual about me. I yawned quietly, but not unnoticed.

'Well now young lady, I think you should get some sleep. We've all had a very big day, and you need to rest, okay?' I nodded, as I yawned again. Amalie nearly did too. Vic said goodnight and left us to tell Pavel (and his wife) the good news. As I began to slowly fall into unconsciousness, I began to silently weep again. For my Mama, who I'd never see again, and my Papa, who was to far away for me to even dream about. I wept until I could no more, and after a time, eventually cried myself to sleep in Amalie's arms.


	3. Start Again

**Chapter 3: New Home, New Emotions**

**A/N: Okay, Ch2 was officially the longest chapter I have ever written! Hope it was worth it! Right, I will post a list **_**as part of the next chapter**_** of what (hair) colours go with what emotions, just to clarify for everyone. I need feedback peoples, much appreciated! Also, I am slightly annoyed that despite the fact I always post chapters around 11pm, my stories still end up nowhere near the top of the list. Stupid international time difference, grr. Anyways, I'll get on with it: Enjoy! G-4077.**

It had been a week since my Mama's funeral, and the funerals of all 198 people who had died. Although my mother had originally planned to be buried in her home town in Italy, I found out she had later decided to be buried (hopefully one day with my Papa) in the Starfleet Cemetery, back in California. It was weird (and slightly depressing) to think that my parents had actually, at some point, thought about where they'd be buried when they died. Why they would want to think about something like that though? But their untimely deaths put my argument to rest. Another twinge of sadness ripped through me as I thought of them. I hadn't understood much of what was being said at the funerals, especially because I sobbed through most of it, especially at the menton of my Mama. And then there were all the other people I knew who were also gone; friends I'd never see again. I still hadn't opened the box of my parents' possessions. Most thought it was because I was unable to face the further pain, which was partially true. But it was mainly because there was no word about my Papa, and I didn't want to disturb what he and Mama had shared. It seemed sort of….disrespectful to them. That was probably my Galactrian respectfulness kicking in. Well, that was one more thing I'd inherited from my father.

Since last week, it was hard to shake off the permanently dead and empty feeling of loss. To match my morbid moods, my hair was either a dark blue, or indigo. I was always either very sad, or unable to react to a situation properly anymore. I was truly grieving. But it couldn't help it. All I could think about was Mama and Papa. I missed them so much, it was nothing short of unbearable; how much it hurt. I didn't know what to do, except quietly wish I had my parents back. _Like that was going to achieve anything_, the other half of my conscience said.

I stood holding Amalie's hand at the airport. I was going to live with Pavel and his family, in Russia. I was still getting used to the fact this was actually happening. I did not know that much about Russia or Earth-civilisation for that matter. I had spent my whole life either on Galactria, or on a Starfleet ship. Earth life would be something very new to me. The few possessions I owned had been packed away in a large box, leaving me with only a few items in my backpack, including my PADD and the box of my parents' belongings. Just because I hadn't opened the box yet, didn't mean I was going to let it get left somewhere where I didn't know it was safe. I was very protective of the things I owned, and this box was no exception. All stuffed neatly in my backpack, and that's where my things would stay. I had hardly let go of Amalie's hand this whole morning, because I was nervous, and I knew I wouldn't be seeing her for a long time. It was hard to think of life without her. I had known her nearly my whole life, and now I had to let go of practically everything I had lived in my life.

We walked to the Terminal where we were to meet Victorivich and Pavel. I had only seen Pavel briefly, the day before Mama's funeral. His appearance lifted my spirits slightly, but other than that, my hair had remained in the deep blue or purple category. Though now, it was now maroon- for nervousness, occasionally flickering to the worried khaki. We saw the two of them waiting for us, both smiling. Although even from a distance, Pavel's lopsided grin was stretching wide across his face. I managed to give a little smile as I approached him and his father. Amalie and Vic greeted each other in a friendly manner, as we got to where they were standing. Vic smiled down at me.

'Hello Tess. How are you today?' he said kindly. I held back a scowl. I would've thought it was obvious how I was today. I was scared, nervous, still grieving. Usually my hair says it all. But I guessed he didn't know all of my colour/emotions. Oh well.

'Okay, I guess.' I replied quietly. Amalie squeezed my hand. I squeezed it back.

'Hi Tess!' said Pavel excitedly. I didn't know what he was looking forward to more: going home to his beloved Russia, or the fact that I was coming with him.

'Hi Pavel.' I said.

'Are you looking forward to seeing Russia?' he asked. I shrugged.

'I guess so. I haven't been on Earth very long, I don't know much about how everything works here.'

'That's okay! I'll show you!' he said encouragingly. 'Thanks.' I couldn't help but smile now. My hair went a bit more golden-brown, showing I felt a little more comfortable with Pavel and Vic now. They all smiled at me. It seemed I was getting a little more social again. But that was just with a few particular people. Coping with the rest of the world was going to be harder. But I figured I could trust Vic. Heck, I was going to live with him- I had to trust him.

There was a call on the PA for our flight to start queuing up. I sighed; my hair went back to dark blue. This was it. Oh heck, this was it. This was the first step to starting my new life. I unconsciously held Amalie's hand a lot tighter than I usually would have, but let's face it; this was no "usual" situation. Amalie squatted down, and looked straight into my cold grey eyes, as I looked into her chocolate brown ones. She put both her hands into my smaller ones, and smiled.

'Well Tessie, I guess this is it.'

'Will I ever see you again?' I asked, hoping with all my heart she'd say yes. Amalie gave me a sad smile.

'Yeah sweetie. Of course you will.' My hair lit up a peachy pink- my sign of relief. Amalie continued. 'I'll still be working for Starfleet, but I promise I will try and visit. And I promise I'll contact you on the PADD when I can, okay?'

'Okay.' I replied simply, happy she'd said everything I'd hoped she'd say. Amalie hesitated for a second, before pulling me into a tight, loving embrace. That just brought the tears back- for both of us.

'Oh Tessie, I'm gonna miss you so much my darling.' Amalie said, choking back sobs. I was quietly crying too.

'I'm gonna miss you too. Hey, Amalie?' I said after a few seconds.

'Yeah honey?'

'I love you.'

'I love you too Tess. Always will.'

'Thank you for everything.'

'Oh, that's okay honey. I loved looking after you. And we will see each other again, okay? Keep safe, be good, make your parents and me proud.'

'I will.' I said sadly. I guess I didn't really understand that part, but I wanted to make people proud of me. I knew I'd do something when I was older, something great. Then, I'd really make them all proud. We hugged until another call came for our flight to start boarding. We eventually let go of each other. Amalie hugged Vic, and gave him a small peck on the cheek, giving him a brief thanks for what he was doing.

'Take care of her Vic. Or there'll be trouble.'

'Yes Amalie, I will. I believe you.' he chuckled the last part. Amalie turned to Pavel.

'See ya Pavel. Be a good boy alright?'

'I already am.' Pavel said sort of proudly. Vic and Amalie laughed at this. She swooped down to give me one last kiss on the cheek.

'See ya kiddo. Have a good flight!'

'Bye Amalie!' I called as we started walking towards the queue. Even when we were at the front of the line, ready to go in, I could still see Amalie when I turned around, just to make sure. And she was there.

When we got on the plane, the three of us were seated on a window side of the plane. I sat closest to the window, cause I liked looking at Earth from the sky. Not that we were going out of orbit this time, but I found it interesting. Vic and Pavel had insisted I take the window seat. Either they were both being very gentlemanly, or it was Vic's polite way of keeping me slightly entertained. 13 hours on a plane could be very tiring for a kid. Pavel sat next to me, with his own PADD, and a few other items in his backpack. And his father sat next to him, on the end of our row, already busying himself with work of some kind. As we took off, I was a mix of being excited and scared and still kinda upset. Goodness knows what my hair was displaying. I wasn't going to see Amalie for a long time. I wasn't going to see my mother ever again. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see my father again, but now- I guess I had a new family. But that didn't mean I was going to forget the family I had before. After a few minutes, once we were flying fully horizontally, and safely, I turned to see Pavel smiling expectantly at me. I had a faint idea of what he was going to ask me.

'So.' He said 'What do you want to do?' I paused for a moment, thinking about what I wanted to know since we'd last talked. I smiled.

'Can you tell me about Russia?' I asked. The grin on Pavel's face only got wider. So, he told me about his family back home, his mother (who I was yet to meet), her amazing cooking, and his older brothers who sometimes picked on him, but were pretty smart too. "Though I think I'm smarter sometimes." He had quietly boasted. He spoke of how cold it got, and how beautiful the snow was in winter. Then he asked me about Galactria, and I told him what I remembered of the beautiful planet. I explained how every family had different markings on their skin, representing their ancestry. And how everyone's hair changed colours, though adults were more controlled. Pavel then questioned me more deeply over what the colours meant, so we decide to make a list on his PADD (I'd made a list on mine ages ago.) we got to about 16, and then stopped. I knew there were more, but they hadn't happened to me yet, Mama said I'd experience new feelings as I got older. I had always wondered what they were. I was still to find out. We discussed languages, and most of what we had been saying on the flight was in Russian, because Pavel still had trouble understanding English. And vice versa with me Russian. I promised I'd teach him some Galactrian in addition to English. He got very excited at this.

We eventually got tired of talking about our homes and such, so we began exchanging quantum theory equations and other complicated anomalies (not normal for an eight and nine year old I know, but I admit, it was rather nice to be in the company of another 'wunderkind'.) We had Sodoku battles, played all sorts of brain-teasing games, ate some lunch, before we both; finally exhausted from all that energy and brain-power, fell soundly asleep next to each other, pillows at odd angles behind our heads, or on our shared armrest. It seemed Vic had noticed, because I could swear on Einstein's relative dimension theory, that I heard Vic's throaty chuckle as he noticed the pair of us drifting peacefully into innocent slumber. And barely a second after I had heard that laugh of his, I fell asleep.

I woke nearly 8 hours later to Vic gently shaking my shoulder, and doing the same to Pavel. He softly murmured for us to wake up, saying something about landing soon. As I blearily opened my eyes, I noticed the lights were dimmer in the plane, and many other people had fallen asleep too. As Vic started packing up some of his work items, I lightly poked Pavel in the shoulder as he reluctantly shifted his position. He opened his eyes fully at me and smiled tiredly. We got our things together and waited for the plane to land. When it did, I saw the beautifully lit runway highlighting the deep navy sky. Lots of stars were out and twinkled down on everything. Distantly, I saw what I suspected to be mountain ranges. Yep, this was Russia. I exhaled deeply, taking in the unfamiliar landscape. Even from the window, everything Pavel had said was true so far- the place was beautiful. Once the plane had stopped, we all got off; holding each other's hands to stay together. With our backpacks of essentials, we made our way to the terminal bay to collect our luggage. I was starting to get nervous, and my hair began to turn maroon again, receiving some strange looks from the people behind me. I had no idea what to expect, despite all I had been told of life here. I started to question again whether I was ready for this. Well, no turning back now.

'Papa? Is Mama waiting for us?' Pavel asked brightly, seeming to skip some of his steps. He was so happy that he was returning home, to everything he was comfortable with in life, and now he had one more thing- a true friend. Vic smiled down at his son.

'Yes Pavel. Mama is waiting for us. She's probably found our luggage. You know how good she is at finding things. She notices everything.'

I noticed they had been conversing in Russian ever since they got off the plane. Man, this was going to be weird. I had no problem speaking in Russian; I understood the language generally quite well. There were a few fine points I had to master, but otherwise I could handle a pretty average conversation. I much preferred to speak Galactrian or English. I felt Vic's eyes on me all of a sudden, noticing I hadn't spoken a word since waking up. My worried hair shade probably didn't to back up the identical expression on my face.

'Tess? Are you feeling okay?' he asked in English, with concern. I looked up at him, poorly attempting a smile.

'I don't know. I think so.' I said, stumbling over my words. Vic nodded as he turned his head forward again. He smiled.

'Ah, look Pavel, it's your mother.' He said in Russian. Pavel and I looked up ahead. A thin, pale woman with beautiful blonde hair stood not too far away. She had a loving smile on her face made her look friendly and kind, which reassured any preconceptions I'd had about her. She wore simple clothes, appropriate for the autumn weather. It was kind of cold though. She had a light blue jumper on with a long dark blue skirt. She was very pretty. Pavel grinned so widely this time, I was worried his mouth might detach itself from the rest of his face from his enormous smile. 'Mama' He broke off from his father, and ran straight into the waiting arms of his mother. 'Pascha!' she responded with equal enthusiasm. She picked him up, embracing him closely. I estimated it had probably been a few months since they'd last seen each other. Another twinge of sadness dented my heart. I'd never be hugged like that again- not by my mother anyway. I continued to walk at a steady pace with Vic. When we got to Pavel and his mother, Vic briefly let go of my hand, leaning in to kiss his wife. They whispered something to each other that I didn't understand, and then they both turned to me. I was really freaking out now. But I kept it to myself, my hair remaining a worried maroon. I looked up at the two of them, mainly taking the sight of the woman who I would be living with for an unknown period of time. She continued to smile down at me. Vic spoke first:

'Alina, this is Tess Moretti. Tess, this is Alina Chekov, Pavel's mother, and my wife.' I remained silent.

'Hi Tess, how are you?' her voice was soft, almost like music. Even in Russian.

'Um, o-okay. Nice to m-meet you.' I stuttered out the sentence mumblingly. I felt so stupid right now.

'I've heard a lot about you. Pavel has not stopped talking about you since he found out you were coming to live with us. We're all very excited to have you here.' I looked at Pavel, who was blushing profusely. Alina got down to my level. 'And really,' she said quietly. 'I'm very happy to have another girl in the house. We can show those boys how much better it is to have some girls around the house.' My smile widened slightly at this, my hair going slightly goldy-yellow. She didn't glare; obviously Vic had warned her of my constantly changing appearance. I was really starting to like this woman. Vic took my hand again, and Alina took Pavel's. He yawned involuntarily.

'Well now, let's not stand here all night. Let's go home everyone.' He put some emphasis on that last sentence, I noticed. Home. Really? This was going to be my new home? With a family I didn't even know that well, in another country, another planet for crying out loud. Yes, this was my new life. Little did I know how this would affect me in future…..

**Okay, I hope this chapter was okay. Took me two days to complete. Just finished this last bit while reading a Star Trek Fanfic (ironic huhu?) And listening to Phantom of the Opera, Garage Hymnal and Wicked. Kinda nice I'm ending this while listening to "For Good" heehee. Expect update in no less than 3 days. I'm determined to stay at the top of that list! R&R's appreciated. Thanks for subscribing! G-4077 :D**


	4. Nightmares and Space

**Chapter 4: The New Room, the New Fears…**

**A/N: Okay, didn't beat my deadline- very Sorry. Massive (long) weekend. Thanks heaps for the reviews n stuff! Midnight posts are getting me a little further up the list. Please note dialogue is in Russian (unless otherwise specified); I'm just putting it in English to keep it easy. Before I go, just wanna reminisce over the NRL Grand Final Sunday night- GO YOU MIGHTY DRAGONS! (Any Aussie will get my gist) Anyways, I'll keep the story going…**

The car ride to my new home was considerably quiet. Alina asked me a few general questions, which resulted in a few quiet murmured answers from me. My hair remained an apathetic indigo. Now, I didn't really know what to feel. Vic and Pavel helped answer some of Alina's questions, having slightly more knowledge on me. I sat next to Pavel in the back, looking out at the passing landscape. Even on an autumn night, it was a glorious sight to take in. Pavel cut the silences by animatedly informing me about all the interesting features of the area, which did keep me awake for my part. It was obvious more than anything that Pavel was simply ecstatic at being home. I guess was happy for him. At least I'd have him and his parents to help me adjust.

We arrived 25 minutes later at a large old-style house at an intersection corner of a long, dimly lit street, with many differently designed homes. Pavel was practically bouncing in his seat, and rushed to get out of the car with his backpack. I hesitantly followed with my own backpack as Vic and Alina unloaded the boot of the car with their suitcases, and my large box of belongings. As I walked to the front veranda, my hair went maroon again, increasingly nervous. I looked up at the house; it was a brick home (obviously 21st Century design) painted a pale blue/green colour, which even at night gave it a calming, serene look about it. There was a curvy number 33 near the tall, white front door. And I noticed also, a neat front garden, full of brightly coloured flowers and plants. All in all; a very welcoming kind of home. Even for 23rd Century Earth. I thought back to the types of homes we had on Galactria, and believe me- this was as different as can be.

Alina unlocked the door, and walked in with Pavel's suitcase. Vic, carrying his gear and mine was about to follow, when he gave his son a nudge as he was going to walk in. Pavel turned around, to see me still standing wide-eyed on the edge of the veranda. He smiled.

'Come on Tess! Let me show you our house! You're going to love it!' he waited for me as I slowly made my way to the front door, and taking a breath, stepped into the house with Pavel right by my side. My hair went sky blue in wonder:

There was a short hallway with a closed door on each side. At the end of the hall was a large carpeted living room area, with a few comfy-looking couches, and a large TV. There was a fireplace (I hoped it was real) on one side of the room with a large rug in front of it. One of the walls had a large white curtain drawn across it, and I realised it was a massive window. I wondered what could be seen on the other side. There were a few paintings and pictures on the cream-coloured walls, and a large (virtual) noticeboard that hung near another open space which I worked out to be the kitchen. Slightly different setting-out from what I expected, but then again, Galactrians were never really fussy with food. We only eat once or twice a day. There was a big table sort of in-between both rooms, which I assumed was where they would eat meals.

I also spotted a winding staircase leading up to I-don't-know-where, cause I'd never lived in a house with stairs _inside_ before. There were beginnings of another hallway nearby, with a few other doors, but otherwise, this seemed to be the bulk of the interior. Very modern looking compared to the outside. But it looked alright. Different, but alright. I could probably get used to this. It was like adjusting to a Starship for the very first time. Except this wasn't a Starship. If it was a Starship, I'd be with my own parents right now…

My train of thought was broken by Pavel trying not to laugh at my strange change of hair shade. My hair had gone from maroon (outside) to blue, and then light orange in curiosity, all in a matter of minutes. Clearly my interests had been captured. Vic and Alina put our stuff down, and looked at us. Vic folded his arms, and sighed.

'Well Tess, this is our house. We'll show you where everything is, so…' Vic broke off slowly. He glanced down at Pavel in a suggestive manner. He restarted his sentence.

'Pavel, why don't you show Tess around the house?'

'Yes, I think you'd make a pretty good tour guide. Can you do that Pascha?' added Alina, folding her arms.

Pavel's face lit up. 'Yes! Yes I can! Let's go Tess! I'll show you around!' he said very importantly. I smiled at his sudden 'professional' enthusiasm. I considered myself lucky I suddenly had a friend who was always happy.

I followed him back the way we came; down the hall. We stopped at the first door. He opened the door, and pointed.

'This is the laundry. We keep our towels and things like that here, and we've got a washing machine, for washing clothes and stuff. Of course. Okay?' I nodded in understanding. I'd have to examine this 'washing machine'. I bet it was different to the type we had back home. I had a quick look inside. It was a simply based room with two large cupboards, an ironing board of sorts (I had to ask Pavel what it was) a sink, and two strange looking box contraptions, which I soon informed by Pavel to be the washing machine and dryer. Interesting. I made a quick mental note to study these human items more closely. I hadn't actually involved myself very much with many human-designed objects on the _U.S.S. Phineas_, and was therefore still slightly confused over what these things were, and its specified design purpose. Some study, with some help from Pavel would be most useful.

He opened the next door opposite, which was the bathroom. Pavel then took me back to through the hallway, to the living room, and then the kitchen- which I examined with great interest. Pavel thought this was a little strange, but when I explained to him that preparing food wasn't such a big deal in my world, hence my lack of utensil knowledge, he started to get the picture, and ceased some of his questioning. When we reached the staircase, Pavel just walked past, while I stopped, looking up along the banister.

'What's up there?' I questioned, intrigued. Pavel just shrugged.

'Just our attic. Papa used to use it as a science lab, but since he started with Starfleet, he hardly uses it now. Now, it's mainly just storage and space.' His face lit up all of a sudden. 'But it's got some great hiding places! I'll show you in the morning!' he said brightly. That sounded interesting. I loved finding new places to hide and explore.

We then went through the next little hallway where the bedrooms were. Vic and Alina's was first, a study next to them, a spare room next across. Opposite was another spare room (which Pavel told me was to be my bedroom) and next to mine, was Pavel's room. He showed me his first. When I walked in I nearly gasped. My eyes went a bit wider, and my hair went bright blue again. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. It was a bit of a mess, but I had been told that was normal for human children in particular. There was a large wooden desk against one wall, with a computer on it. Sheets of note-filled paper were strewn all over the surface, stacked in messy piles. On the walls were maps and star-charts of Russia, Earth and other various planets and galaxies. Moving pictures of planets and bright starts added to the 'spacey' look. On the other side, his bed was neatly made (by Alina no doubt) unslept in for weeks or months. A dresser was next it. There was a wardrobe in a corner, and a big wooden box lay next to it (what was inside the box, I did not know). But it was the objects across the floor and on another table that grabbed my attention:

In the other corner, where there was a window with blinds, was a complex-looking train-set, spread out in a small restricted area. The tracks had been set out in strategic fashion; there were a few complex controls, and cute little plastic props that gave the setting its own little environmental setting. On the table stood what looked like a chemistry set, and a few other scientific models and set-ups. Wow, he was really dedicated to his science. At nine years old. And I thought I was obsessive. I wondered how much help Pavel was getting, but I guessed he was very capable on his own. I was going to have some very productive and interesting conversations with Pavel when it came to science.

He had obviously noticed my fascination; my hair flickering rapidly changing from sky blue to light orange.

'You like it yes?' he asked.

'It's amazing! Where did you get all this stuff?' I responded in awe. He grinned proudly.

'Some of it Papa got from Starfleet, but we find things here and there. I'll share with you, if you want to use some of the equipment.' He added quietly. I beamed at him.

'Yes! Oh thank you! You'll have to show me how some of this works! It's fascinating!' Pavel looked very happy that he'd finally have someone else to share his works with, apart from his rarely-seen brothers.

'Thanks. Do you want to go to your room now?' he inquired. I looked to him.

'Yes. Okay.' And we made our way out of Pavel's room and walked to the next door in the hall. As Pavel was about to open the door when he stopped. I raised my eyebrows.

'What is it?'

'Uh, don't be upset if your room isn't as…..decorated. It used to be my brother's room, it's a little boring.' My spirits were only slightly dampened, but I didn't really mind. The room I shared with my parents on the _Phineas_ wasn't very exciting. I only shrugged in reaction, hair still orange in curiosity. Pavel opened the door. We walked in.

Okay, so it was a little bare, but I tried my best not to show my 'disappointment' of sorts. Instead, my hair just went to indigo, as I looked around. It was the same basic layout as Pavel's room; window on the opposite facing wall, single bed, dresser and wardrobe. The walls were a light blue with some pale yellow border lining. Two colours which stood positive for me. My box of belongings lay on the bed; Vic had obviously put it there for me. I dropped my backpack next to the box on the bed. I smiled at the bed-covers; the sheets were white, and the doona was a light purple. How did Alina know? Did she know? Purple was my favourite colour, and a usually positive colour for my hair as well. The covers were soft, smooth. A comfortable bed; now, for this I was thankful. Even if I did only sleep for a max of 6.5 hours per night. There were no pictures on the wall, but I figured I would be allowed to add my own touches in time. Depending on how long that time was. I sat on the bed with my packaged possessions as Pavel watched me curiously. He stood nervously in front of me.

'Well? Is it okay?'

I looked up at him, attempting a smile. 'It's fine. Really.' I worried he didn't quite believe me. He raised his eyebrows.

'You sure? You're sure your okay?' he asked, concerned. I just nodded my head slowly, suddenly realising how tired I was. I tried to restrain a yawn. I failed. Despite his constant aura of excitement, Pavel yawned as well. We'd both had a big 24 hours. It was that moment Vic and Alina walked in, both dressed in pyjamas.

'Well, has the tour finally concluded?' Vic asked teasingly. Pavel nodded.

'Yes Papa. I think we're done.'

Alina turned to speak to me: 'And was your tour guide very helpful Tess?' she asked in an almost identical gentle mocking tone.

'He was good enough. I learnt a lot.' I said, before yawning again.

'Alright you two, time for bed I think. Come on Pavel, we'll let Tess get changed.' Sid Vic, indicating the boys should leave. Pavel looked at me again, and then walked out to his room next door. Alina however stayed. She closed the door, sighing, and sat down on the bed next to me.

'Would you like me to help you unpack Tess?' She asked helpfully. I shrugged.

'Okay, but there's not that much to unpack.' I said plainly. Alina nodded in understanding. I had lost most of my possessions on the _Phineas_ when the ship was near destroyed. I only had what was recovered. Really, I was lucky I had anything at all. I got out my pyjamas- purple coincidentally. Alina noticed.

'Ah, you like purple as well?' She asked with interest. I looked up.

'Yes, it's my favourite colour. Did you know that? Because the bed's purple, and I didn't know if you knew or not.'

'No, I didn't know Tess. Purple's my favourite colour too you know.' my hair went golden yellow.

'Really?' I exclaimed excitedly. She nodded.

'Oh yes, ever since I was a little girl. I love everything purple. Why do you like it?'

I thought for a moment. 'Well, when my hair goes light purple, it means I'm content, so I'm sorta calm and happy. It's kinda calming and cool. And purple looks nice with every other colour, especially my hair when it changes.' Alina chuckled at the last bit, seeing my reasoning. 'Why do you like it?' I responded. Alina paused briefly.

'Some of the same reasons as you. It's a cross between some girly and boyish colours, so it's good for everyone. Lots of beautiful, bright things are purple, like lavender, the flower, which smells absolutely lovely. Some of the flowers in the backyard are lots of different types of purple. Do you want to see them tomorrow?' I smiled.

'Yes! I've never seen real Earth plants before! Only native ones on Galactria, and some clones on the Starship. I don't really know what real ones are like.'

'Okay then, I'll show you all the plants in the garden. But first, I think you need to get some sleep.' She said, as she put my box on the floor, next to my bed. I was definitely starting to warm up to Alina. I knew she could replace my Mama, but she was really nice. And she liked purple. As I put my pyjamas on, I asked a curious question.

'Alina?'

'Yes?'

'I've kind of forgotten, how long do human normally sleep for?' she seemed slightly surprised at the question, but answered conversationally.

'Generally, somewhere between 7-9hours. Why? How long do Galactrians sleep for?'

'Only about 4 or 5 hours. But because I'm a half and half, I sleep about 6 and half. Is that okay?'

'I don't really see a problem in that. I find that very interesting.'

You do?'

'Yes Tess. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. I've never had another girl living in the house before, and I'm so happy that you're here. Plus, Vic told me you're very smart, like Pavel, so I think you and he will get along very well. Pavel isn't like a lot of other children around here, so he's absolutely thrilled he's got a friend who's a bit like him. What's you're IQ again?'

'One hundred and forty nine.' I declared proudly, my hair going violet (ironically). Alina's eyebrows went high into her forehead.

'One hundred and forty nine?' she repeated, astounded. 'That's wonderful! Pavel's is not far off. He's about one hundred and fifty one.'

I inwardly sighed at the fact Pavel had beaten me by two measly points. Oh well, at least it was confirmed that I he was also a child genius. Perfect company, I thought to myself. I yawned again.

'Okay then darling, time for bed I think. Do you want to say goodnight to the boys?'

Right on cue, as if he'd heard us, Vic softly knocked at the door. 'Come in!' Alina called. Vic came in slowly; glad to see Alina and me getting to know each other a little better.

'Going to bed are we?' I nodded. Vic looked at the small clock on my bedside dresser: it read 10:36pm. 'It is getting late. Pavel! Do you want to come say goodnight?' he said as he spoke put of the doorway.

Pavel poked his curly cropped head through the door, and came in wearing dark green pyjamas with red and yellow spaceships on them. He shuffled to his father's side, while I quietly giggled at his appearance. He looked at the floor for a second before slowly lifting his head and looking at me.

'Night Tess. Sleep well.' There was silence for a few seconds.

'You too Pavel. Good night.' I murmured quietly in response.

And then he did something slightly unexpected. He walked right up to me, and hugged me around the middle. I sat stock still on my bed for a second, before hugging him back. It was hard to figure out who was more surprised at that moment; me or Vic and Alina. When he let go, we both looked at each other then simultaneously looked down at the floor. Alina laughed softly, and Vic looked down at his son.

'All right Pascha, to your room. I'll tuck you in, in a minute.' He said, as Pavel hugged his mother. She whispered to him: 'I'll be in soon okay?' and with that, Pavel ran to his room, looking at me one more time, smiling. Vic came up to me, and gave me a hug, which I accepted gratefully. His strong arms pulled around me, and I felt safe again. It was like when he saved me from the burning Starship. I knew I could trust him, he would protect me. He planted a soft kiss on top of my head.

'Good night little Tessie. Sleep tight my girl.' He said lovingly to me. I smiled up at him, overwhelmingly glad that I was being accepted into this family.

'Good night Vic.' I whispered. He then set me down into my bed, as Alina pulled back the covers for me. He held my chin in his hand, and then quietly made his way to Pavel's room. Alina continued to sit next to me as she stroked my hair.

'Now, are you comfortable Tessie? Do you need anything?' I shook my head.

'I don't think so. I think I'm okay for now. Thank you though.'

'No problem sweetheart. It's the least we can do.' She said, warmly embracing me. I lay down, and she pulled the covers up past my shoulders. The bed was warm and comfortable; I was so ready to just drop off to sleep. Alina leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. 'Sleep well Tess. Good night.' She turned off my bedside light, and exited my room, silently closing the door with one last smile. And it was only a few minutes later I dropped off into slumber.

_There was a rumbling kind of sound. It sounded strangely familiar. It was more than a rumbling, the distant crashed of…something was getting closer. I looked around: I was in Mama's office, looking out the door. People were running around everywhere- screaming, panicking, fleeing for their lives. Objects were falling from the desks and shelves, the lights were flickering. All of a sudden the roof caved in on one side of the hall. There was an almighty BANG! And I was thrown into the doorframe. I was scared. Suddenly, I was pushed inside the office, my Mama holding me- speaking to me. But I could hardly hear her; everything was muffled. Blurry, but when I looked, it was all so vivid, so clear. She hugged me one last time and ran outside, shutting the door, with a heart-breaking look. My heart pounded fiercely in my ears._

_I ran to the window- there was chaos all around. The world- my world was crashing down. The door smashed open, debris flying everywhere. I screamed, running to the desk- still intact. I hid myself under it. The whole room was collapsing. Objects flying, the ship being jolted, Crashes! And Bangs! And I was alone. Alone, when everything around me was being destroyed. Everything- caving in on me. Confining me into smaller and smaller space. My breathing was ragged, I was crying, my heart racing, the room closing in on me. I was helpless. My head hurt. With nearly no room left, I was being compressed, unable to breathe, debris and furniture pushing, forcing me into the wall. There was no space. For anything. I was being choked. No room, no room. No. No! No! STOP! NO! NOOOO!_

'NO! NO! NOOO! STOP! PLEASE STOP! NOOOOO!'

'Tess! Tess! Wake up child! Wake up! Please wake up! Tessie!' I heard distantly. I continued to scream, still feeling forced into nothingness, still hurting.

'NOO! STOP! PLEASE, NOOOO!'

'TESSIE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!'

I forced my eyes open. My breathing was hard and ragged. I was cold. I was scared. I was being held- but by a person. I could feel a pair of strong hands on my shoulders. I realised I was back in my room. Someone's soft hand was on my forehead. It hardly brought comfort. I looked straight into the eyes of Victorivich, his worried blue eyes staring back at me. My frightened grey eyes, my powder blue-white hair, plastered to my pale marked face.

Tessie! Tessie! It's okay! It's okay!'

'Mama!' I gasped. 'No! Mama! Papa!' I could hardly finish my sentence. I was totally petrified. In complete and utter shock. I'd seen it all over again, when I'd hoped not to. In the days after my parents' deaths, at Starfleet, I'd had nightmares like this, and I always woke up screaming for them, for it all to stop. I was eventually given a sedative to help me sleep peacefully, but not this time.

'Shhh, sshh Tessie. It's okay, it's okay. It was just a nightmare. Just a bad dream, that's all sweetheart. Shhh, sshh, it's alright, calm down, it's alright.' His voice soothingly reassured me. I only sobbed into his thin, muscly chest. He just held me tightly, rocking me gently to and fro, in an effort to calm me down. I was so afraid. I didn't like being afraid. Alina whispered similar words of comfort while stroking my hair gently. I tried to slow my breathing, but it was difficult in-between choked sobs. Vic and Alina continued to clam me down after my night terror. After a few minutes, I heard a sleepy voice outside the door.

'Mama? Papa? What's wrong with Tess? Is she alright?' Alina turned to her sleepy son, standing in the doorway with his teddy bear.

'She just had a bad dream Pascha; she's very upset, that's all. Go back to sleep darling.'

'I can't. I'm not tired now. I want to see if Tess is alright.' He said in a tired, but determined voice. I heard him move further inside the room. By now my breathing had slowed a bit, my hair now the dark blue it once was to signify how upset I was. Which was very. I looked up from Vic's now-soaked shirt, into his still worried eyes, trying to reassure me. I saw Alina, putting on the brave face, with Pavel on her lap, his curls slightly ruffled from sleep. He had a genuinely concerned expression on his face. His head slightly tilted to one side.

'Tess? Are you okay?' he asked in a small voice. I attempted an answer, but just ended up shaking my head, leaning into Vic once again. I could hear his heartbeat, it made me relax just a little bit; hearing the deep, rhythmic beating slowly. I used to listen to my father's heart beating when he was alive, that usually helped me calm myself. This was having a similar effect. But I found I couldn't sleep now. I was so awake.

'I can't sleep now. I'm scared.' I mumbled. Alina answered me gently.

'It's okay Tessie dear, don't worry. Why don't you lie down again, and take deep breaths. Why don't I tell you a story? A nice, fun story.'

'I can't sleep either, Mama. Can I hear the story too?' Pavel added on.

'Okay Pascha, why don't you sit here, nice and quiet next to Tess, okay? Keep her company too. And I'll tell you the story.'

Pavel slid off Alina's lap, and crawled onto my doona, and snuggled in, sitting up next to me. He was warm, as he curled up beside me, and I suddenly felt a little warmer, my hair starting to faintly turn chestnut, calming down. Vic pulled the covers snugly around us, and he placed himself on the edge of my bed, as we settled ourselves for Alina's tale.

She began quietly, telling us a tale about a boy called Jack, who lived with his mother, and they had not food to eat. And one day, Jack was going to sell his cow at the market, when he met a strange old man on the way, and he traded him the cow for some magic beans. When Jack got home, his mother got so cross, she threw the beans out the window, and they had no supper. She told us how the next morning, while they slept; the beans grew into an enormous stalk that reached into the heavens! And when Jack saw it, he climbed right up the stalk, and found a whole new magical world in the clouds. Everyone was _huuuge! _And after some exploring, Jack went to a massive house, where he saw a giant woman sweeping the floor. And on the window sill, was this beautiful golden harp, which played the most wonderful music without even having to touch it. And I don't remember what happened after that, because I slowly started to fall asleep on Pavel's shoulder, (now with normal light brown hair,) and he was dropping off against me in the exact same way.

**A/N: Whoa! Looong chapter! Probably ain't my best, but I've been distracted by heaps: NRL G-Final Commonwealth Games opening- just watched Aust. Win 6 medals! Please note, I will be writing chapter of them as they get older and hopefully will develop into a more romantic Pavel/Tess, so keep following me! Suggestions, and tips/constructive criticism are more than welcome! Keep those reviews going and I'll keep writing! Thanks! G-4077.**


	5. Surprises of Study

**Chapter 5: The Surprises of Studies**

**Hope most of you read my last apology message; that explains it. I'm full on, I know, I work too hard sometimes. I'm trying to go as fast as I can, but I'm trying to continue 6 other stories at the same time. I wrote that a few weeks back, so with exams and term over now, writing is high, high priority. Now enjoy, this is more childhood stuff/fluff. Please note pretty much all the Chekov's (and generally Tess') dialogue is in Russian. I'm just sparing myself and you the maddening process of translating everything. Please Review!**

**G-4077. :D**

I slowly awoke the next morning to find myself huddled comfortably next to a heavily sleeping Pavel. I blinked a few times to try and remember where I was, and what he was doing here, my hair briefly going teal in my confusion. But after remembering the events of the previous night (or morning, as it were), it returned to its neutral brown. I looked to the large window on the left; the curtain covering the rest of the outside world, which I was yet to see, but judging from the level of light, and therefore, the hardly risen position of the sun, I figured it was still very early morning- dawn still breaking. I turned my head back to look at my bedside table, where I remembered the unset alarm clock standing there. _5:23 am,_ it read. Gosh, I could be such an idiot sometimes. All I had to do was look at the stupid clock, and not rely on my super-smarty-pants skills (as some would call it) to do something simple like tell the time.

I looked back at Pavel. He was content where he was; in his dreams. The hints of light creeping into the room softened his milky white skin even more. He looked so relaxed, off in his own little world. His breathing was slow and even, and he seemed totally at peace. If only I could sleep like that. Since my parents' deaths, I had suffered from several nightmares. I was aware it was a common result of post-traumatic stress. Well, duh- I'd just become an orphan, due to some whacked out aliens violently blowing up our Starship (to put it simply). Of course I was bound to fall victim to the stresses of my situation.

All I could see now when I went to sleep were the two people I loved the most. My Mama and Papa. And every time I saw them smiling at me, everything came back, the explosions, the screaming, the world collapsing, closing in on me as if to consume me with those I had already lost. And those two faces I knew I'd never see again.

I turned back to Pavel, who stirred in his sleep. He shifted his position slightly, and then went back to his deep and even breathing. I caught myself smiling a little; I know this because some strands of hair hanging down my face were going goldy. Before I could knock some sense into myself, I heard a noise, one I wasn't normally familiar with. It was only soft, but I could hear it. I honestly had no idea what on earth it was. I looked around; it didn't sound like it was coming from the hallway, it would've echoed. My eyes went around my room; nothing was moving that I could see. And my eyesight was very sharp thank you. The sound was becoming more prominent now- a sort of….rustling. I checked my partly open door- nothing. Room, nothing. But then, my glance went back to the window. There was a faint shadow. And it was moving. It looked big, its shape wasn't clear. I decided to quietly slip out of bed, and see what was outside the window. Silently, and effortlessly, without waking Pavel, I shifted myself out of my warm covers, and tip-toed across the cold wooden floor, towards the large window covered by the enormous mauve curtain. The shape on the other side looked bigger, and it was still moving, and making the rustling, shivering sound. My hair was definitely an anxious maroon by this time, I was slightly afraid. I gently grabbed the edge of curtain, and braced myself, pulling it across ever so slowly…what I saw I did not expect. My hair flashed a sky blue in reaction as I gasped, absolutely awestruck.

I was looking at a beautiful sun-lit garden, in front of one of the most beautiful landscapes I'd ever seen. The massive shape I'd momentarily been afraid of was a most enormous tree, I wasn't sure what kind- I wasn't familiar with plants, particularly earth ones. The trunk was thick and lumpy, and branches stuck out in all directions, reaching far, tall, and wide. It looked perfect for climbing. The tree itself was about as tall as the house. If you got to the top, chances are you could see the whole landscape. And what a landscape it was: the garden itself was gorgeous; flowers of all different kinds in little patches, I could see what I was sure was vegetables- I'm still very new to earth culture. There was actually grass, green, green grass on the surface of this backyard, and a winding, coloured paver path curved all around the place. I noticed it started at the back door, but I couldn't see where it ended.

But beyond that was a breathtaking view; snow-capped misty mountains were huddled all together in a wide formation across the horizon. The sky was a bright lemon yellow, with traces of orange and pink still making themselves known in the sunrise. Blue was starting to rise through, lighting up the sky beautifully. I sighed. I could look out at this place forever, it was so magnificent. So different to all my previous homes. But this was my new home, and I was really starting to like it. I pulled a nearby beanbag towards myself, and sat down, crossing my legs, and watched the sun rise, the blue slightly bleak far off, but I figured in Russia, I should be thankful for so much sun. I don't know how long I sat there, soaking up some of the new warmth that filled the air, when I heard Pavel unconsciously shifting his position again from behind me. I quickly turned to look at him; he was still silent, and just rolled over, sighing contentedly. I smiled at him again, before returning to my sitting position. The sky was completely blue now, and white, wispy clouds floated carelessly by. It was a great way to start a morning. I felt my hair go lavender purple. Contentment. Something I rarely felt nowadays. But now was perfect. I was completely lost in thought, when I heard a sleepy Russian voice.

'You like the garden?'

I turned in surprise to see Pavel awake, sleep still in his eyes, his curly hair wildly ruffled from rest, and his slight lopsided smile, as he watched me in my spot on the large beanbag.

'It's amazing. I've never seen anything like this! It's, it's beautiful.' I replied softly in Russian. Even those words could not fully describe the place I had landed myself in. He grinned at my very positive reaction, glowing hair and all, but seemed somewhat surprised that I hadn't experienced this kinda scenery.

'It is wonderful, yes. I love my home. But have you never really been anywhere like Russia?' he asked, fascinated by my travels.

'No. I only lived in San Francisco for a few months at Starfleet, and even then I didn't see much. This is way different. I like this.' I said happily. 'Sorry I woke you up last night.' I added guiltily.

'It's okay.' He said. I presumed he didn't really know what to say to cheer me up after my night terror in the early hours of the morning. Luckily Alina walked in at that moment, happy to see us both awake and chatting. She looked just as angelic as yesterday; she brought a new kind of glow to the room that no one could match.

'Ah, good, you're awake.' She came in and gave Pavel a kiss on the head, then turned to me. 'Tess, how're you feeling?' she said kindly.

'I'm fine. I was just looking outside. It's beautiful. I never saw anything like this before.' Alina seemed slightly excited by this, she sighed in relief of my immediate warming up to the place. 'I'm glad you like it. I'll show you around the garden later, and so can Pavel, won't you Pascha?'

'Yes Mama!' he said brightly. Even at 6 in the morning, he was buzzing; I wondered how he could always be like this. It was like he was surrounded by this permanent aura of happiness. Quite extraordinary, but then again, he was a kid, a very smart kid like me, and he had everything to live for. We had our differences, but I was so glad we had some connection that let us communicate freely. Prodigy to prodigy, kid to kid. I was ever so slowly beginning to become convinced that things were going to turn out slightly better than first thought.

'Good. Well, I'll let you get dressed, so you two can have breakfast, alright? Come on Pavel, to your room.' He obeyed, practically jumping out of the bed, and giving me a small wave, left my bedroom. Alina leaned on the doorframe for a moment.

'Do you need anything dear?'

'No. I think I can find my stuff, thanks.' I replied. I had memorised beforehand what was in my suitcase and each box I had. My clothes were a section of my suitcase on top of two boxes. All had labels, but I didn't need them to remember, I had quite a photographic memory. I pulled out a few things to wear, placing them on my bed. For me, it wasn't such a hard decision. I'd been wearing a lot of black lately in my mourning. I mixed it around with a few other plain coloured pieces, so I didn't look like a Goth or something. Not that I could ever pull that off, what with my hair changing every 30 seconds. But I went with a simple black and white t-shirt, dark leggings, and plain socks. I brushed my short hair, letting it hang on my shoulders, and, looking back at the picturesque morning in my window, I headed down the hallway, to the open kitchen. At least I knew my way there. Victorivich and Pavel were sitting at the table, eating toast and cereal. Alina was cooking at what I remembered was the cooking stove. Whatever she was making, it smelt good, because it wasn't a scent I recognised. I was still getting used to earth food; it didn't always appeal to my taste, Galactrian food was different in its own way, but I was willing to try anything.

'Good morning Tess. Did you sleep okay?' said Vic in his deep, rumbling voice. He smiled down at me, and I smiled back.

'Yes, I'm alright. Morning.' I replied. I sat down at one of the vacant seats next to Pavel. He beamed, even while consuming his cereal. I missed the surprised look Vic and Alina exchanged, wondering if I was truly okay. Last night was a sign of grieving distress, and it would probably stay that way for some time. But this new attitude, just due to the current circumstances, had caught them completely off guard. Alina brought over a sizzling saucepan, and piled some more of whatever was in the pan onto Vic's plate. She saw mine was empty, and offered some to me. I looked from the food, to her.

'Um, what is it?' I asked hesitantly. Alina looked at me in slight disbelief.

'It's scrambled egg and bacon. Do you want to try some?' she asked. I nodded my head.

'Okay, I may as well if you do.'

Alina slid an egg, and a small rash of bacon onto my waiting plate. 'There we go. Now try some of that, and see what you think.' She said. I picked up my fork, and cut a little piece of bacon off. Somehow, I could feel everyone's eyes upon me as I endeavoured to try another new thing on Earth. I figured I could make this part of my study as well. Why not? I was going to be living here for I-don't-know-how-long, so a vital part of human lifestyle would be a necessary feature to my new life. I put the piece in my mouth, and tasted it. It was...well….nice. I couldn't really put words to it. It tasted so good, I wanted to try more. I swallowed, and cut another piece, looking up in the process, and telling them of how I liked it. They smiled in appreciation of the fact I was slowly getting used to new life here. Goodness knows how many other types of foods they had, but I hoped they would all be as good as bacon and egg. This wasn't such a bad study after all.

After breakfast, and Vic had left for work, I had brushed my teeth, and decided to unpack a few more of my belongings, as to not make my room feel as empty. Pavel came in, giving me some assistance, asking me lots of questions concerning my belongings, and how they related to life on Galactria. I (happily) answered all of them, enjoying such an educated conversation with someone my own age. I told him how the sun always shone an orangey-red colour around dawn and dusk, lasting for short hours, until it became white-hot in the middle of the day, lighting up everything in sight. How the endless fields of grass were a much deeper greeny-blue shade to the grass on Earth, and the many hours I'd spend running and lying in its cool softness, and how many of the trees grew tall and beautiful in silver and crimson.

I told him about the people; how each family had their own specific markings, along with the ones everyone shared. The pure-blooded Galactrians (which was about 98% of the population) bore much darker markings, and had more control over their emotions, than a human hybrid such as me. Pavel was nothing short of intrigued when I mentioned my skin also changed colour when I was on a foreign planet, although my recent trauma only added to the sickly glow of my skin. I explained some of the complex settings of Galactrian education, something like the Vulcan's. He listened patiently on my bed, taking in all I had to say, learning of a completely new culture. Just as I was. We spent the next few hours having animated discussions about each other's homes. I began to launch my questions about how things in a human household worked. My limited experience wasn't much for credit, so who better to ask, really? Alina entered my room later on, to see the two of us chatting excitedly over everything. She chuckled at the fact that an eight and nine year old could have such conversations, in addition to always being so full of energy. Well, Pavel more than me, I was still exhausted from grief, but for now, my mind was on other things, happier things. For now.

'Pascha, Tess; it's a beautiful day outside, why don't you two play in the garden?' she suggested lightly. Pavel nodded his head, looking at me.

'Yes! Come on! There are lots more things I haven't showed you!' he bounded off my bed, and I followed him down the hall, through the kitchen, and to a back door I'd noticed earlier. He slid it open, and I stood at the start of the long winding path in the stunning garden. Heck, if this backyard was as colourful as me- that was saying something. I looked at all the flowers, not knowing any of their names. But they were pretty, I liked them, and they actually smelt nice, unlike the flowers on Galactria- which had no scent at all. The trees were one of the only horticultural aspects of my planet I enjoyed, but these trees were different, and I wanted to explore them.

Pavel noticed my excitement. The smile and yellow hair must've been the giveaway. Whatever, this was truly spectacular.

'You want me to show you around?' he asked. I nodded enthusiastically. I could hardly wait. He smiled, and hurried to one of the flowerbed areas. I followed him. This was going to be a good morning indeed.

I spent the next hour or so looking around carefully at everything in the garden. Alina certainly seemed dedicated. Even in this day and age, it was nice to know some people still had some horticultural interest. All of it was so intriguing. Alina told me the name of every flower, vegetable, and plant in the garden, and I eagerly took in all she said. I felt, smelt, and observed the flowers, realising how they were so beautiful up close, and seemed to brighten up everything. We certainly didn't have that kind of thing on Galactria. Nothing to make a room look welcoming and friendly. No new colours and smells. Earth was so diverse- so many different and unusual places that contrasted so greatly. I could now say I was experiencing a completely different culture. And I loved it. I was now focussed on learning more and more, being the inquisitive young thing I was.

After going around nearly the whole backyard, it was well past 'lunchtime' as I knew the time of day to be called. Alina called us inside, before I explained that I wasn't hungry.

'Are you sure you don't want something small to eat dear?' she offered.

'Oh no. I'm not supposed to eat that much anyway. We eat an average once or twice every 60 hours, and that's about all we need.'

'Really? That's it?' Alina said, shocked. Clearly she didn't know that much about my kind. Oh well, I may as well do some educating while I was here. We were one of the most isolated cultures in the galaxy after all.

'Yes. But one meal a day is usually enough. I hardly ever get hungry. I promise. I hope that's not inconvenient.' I added quietly. My limited eating needs were sure to make other people curious, and…well I don't know. I was an oddity among earthlings as it was; thank goodness the neighbours hadn't seen me yet. While Pavel went inside for a little while for lunch, I asked if I could explore the massive tree next to the house. As soon as I got the all-clear, I raced out the door again and right up to the massive trunk. I looked up- it was so tall, it seemed to tower above me forever. Then my gut instinct set in. To explore, one must climb. And climb I did. Like an animal, I gracefully jumped, clinging to the trunk, and effortlessly making my way up. Thank goodness for my natural adventurous ability. I scaled the tree easily, reaching some high branches in a matter of seconds. The branches were strong, and the leaves created a protective barrier around the tree, blocking out some of the sun. But it was pleasant enough. I found a well-positioned branch and sat on it, leaning back on the trunk. It was almost like being back on Galactria, with big trees like these. Although, we were forbidden to climb most of them, because some government branded them as "sacred". Load of nonsense, there were plenty of trees left to go around. Nearly all the young children of Galactria would climb the trees in the fields as soon as they got the chance. It was a common pastime of ours. I sat in the tree, thinking about how I missed my home planet, and the Starship. Both were my homes, but I still felt more loyal to Galactria, than I did Earth. I had never spent more than 2 months on the planet, and this was nothing like the big San Franciscan buildings and Starfleet bases. I found it truly fascinating that everywhere on Earth; the landscape was always different, always contrasting. All this just blew my mind; I couldn't really describe it all. I'd never experienced the full-on life of a different world before. The Starship was the closest I'd gotten to that. Despite the fact I was no longer with my parents, or Amalie, I came to the decision that with my study, I'd try and get myself well and truly into the Earth lifestyle, despite my Galactrian characteristics. I wanted to learn so much more about my second home, and now was the only chance I'd get to do it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a scraping and rustling sound below me. Pavel was climbing up to my branch, eager to join.

'I knew you'd be up here!' he said.

'Do you come up here often?' I asked as he found a good branch next to me.

'Yes, when I like to think.'

'Don't you always do that?'

'Well yes, but, you know when you just want to be alone. To have some time to yourself up here. Just, to get away from things.'

After a few seconds of pondering his answer, I replied. 'Yes. I know the feeling.'

We spent long minutes in comfortable silence just sitting on our branches in the tree. My hair occasionally switched from chestnut brown (calm), to light purple (contentment) to turquoise (thoughtful) I was full of so many thoughts right now; I never stopped thinking about many things at once. If I'd forgotten we were in a tree, I might've fallen asleep. I wasn't often tired, but recent events had made me emotionally exhausted. Sometimes, I didn't know what I was thinking. Truly, I was in a flurry of thoughts. I must've appeared much stranger now, than I was normally; I was more adept at picking up human behaviours due to my time on Starships, so while they were familiar to me, I was still new to them. Strange how intergalactic interactions made people either appreciate others, or dislike them. I continued to think about numerous things as the day went on, and as the nights too passed on, I found myself learning more, going new places, and discovering a new life, with Pavel's family, I figured that I could learn to live here, for a while at least. I could get used to this type of life, despite everything being quite daunting and unusual. With the help of my studies and observations (with Pavel's assistance of course) this life on Earth could spark a change. Something I was waiting for, but never knew about. Ah well, I'll see…

**A/N: Okay, okay; see what you think! Not my best ending, kinda just drizzled off a bit. But didn't really know how to end this chappie well, I just wanna keep the story moving, cause I know what I want to happen, and cannot wait to get the ideas outta my head, and onto the paper! (Yes, I still do the majority of my writing with paper and pencil. The N.H. know what I mean- little black book **** ) I promise, I'll keep this one up, cause the real action starts in the teen years, to where the film is up to! You never know, this could end up in the hands of J.J. Abrams! (I freakin wish…) BTW- I'm practically begging for some reviews here! Be back soon;**

**G-4077 :D**


	6. Snow and St Petersburg

**Chapter 6: First Memories; Snow and St. Petersburg**

**A/N: Yullo! I said I'd be back soon! Actually managed to stay on the first page a day after posting! I call that success. Really excited to get next few chappies up! Just noting: I don't know much about Chekov's family- the net doesn't provide much info, so bear with me.**

**Sasluvsdwrh****: I appreciate the Time Warp celebration. You need to carry out the other infamous traditions next time you watch Rocky Horror. Fun times ensue (cue Umbilical Brothers style music)**

**Lady Enigmatic****: Thanks for the **_**other**_** review! Glad you like it. Remember I told you I'd show my friend the Hornblower series? We watched Episodes 1 and 3. I think she likes it. If you want to ask them, send the aforementioned friend a message. Clue: they gain mention in most of my A/N's. I'll quit the rambling for now. Enjoy!**

**G-4077 **

_**2 months later…**_

It was early December. And it was freezing cold. Having lived on a planet that maintained a constant climate, and a moderated Starship all my life, I had no idea that the Earth would go so far as to put people through _this_ kind of change. When I first arrived on the planet, it had been somewhat cool, yes. But all it takes is a few weeks, then suddenly the wind becomes stronger, leaves are falling off the trees (which shocked me at first, but after some explaining, I took comfort in the fact that they'd regrow) and it wasn't long before I encountered the strange meteorological occurrence known as snow. The frost I was getting used to, but the actual snowfall….

…_.….Flashback…_

I was outside in the garden with Pavel (a common happening nowadays) and we were playing a children's game I'd played back on Galactria (it was a bit like Hide and Seek, 44 Homes, and Hot Potato rolled into one). Pavel, at first was a bit baffled by the game, but quickly got the idea of the game, and before long, actually began winning rounds, much to my surprise, therefore launching a playful rivalry. We soon developed slightly different rules and tactics, and altered the game to suit and challenge our own young genius brains. So there we were trying to hide from each other, and catch each other at the same time. I was trying not to repeat my mistake of slipping on the thin layers of frosty ice that had covered the harder surfaces in the backyard, and give away my position. I moved as stealthily as any Galactrian could and looked around. I moved to another position behind a clump of bushes, where I saw Pavel huddled behind the wooden cubby house that stood near the fence. He was looking around him, unaware that I held the perfect position for attack.

Silent as a hunting lioness, I crept up behind Pavel, who held one of our self-invented "attack/danger weapons", a.k.a. a spherical glowing yo-yo device, and I kept deadly quiet, hardly daring to breathe. I always had the advantage of advanced senses- so I was able to see clearer and further, hear every sound from all around me, and feel when, where, and what was moving around me. In this case, I could hear Pavel's muffled breathing through the scarf around his nose and mouth, thin layers of steam forming with each exhale. I stopped behind a tree, just in case he turned around to check I wasn't there, and stood stock still. After a few seconds, I took my "attack weapon" out of my pocket, and silently threw it at Pavel so it didn't hit him. It landed right on target, next to his foot, flashing red and yellow, which signalled only one thing. Pavel, in his haste turned around, but I beat him to it. I leapt out to scare him, ending up inches behind (or now, in front of) him, making him shout and jump back, falling on the cold grass beneath. As I snatched his "attack weapon" and set it to blue, I laughed at his surprise. He looked up at me, pouting in his defeat.

'Do you surrender?' I asked cheerfully, the opposite of how anyone would say it in reality. He slowly nodded his beanie-covered head.

'Da. Da. I surrender.'

The ball which had been set to blue, flashed white three times at the voice activated statement. I then dropped it and held out my hands to help Pavel up. He took them, and pulled himself upright, facing me, and smiling in his usual lopsided way.

'Well, I guess you win again.'

'You're not doing too badly you know. You invented half these rules.' I commented reassuringly.

'Yes, but you got a head start on me with this game.' He added. Suddenly, a small gust of wind blew around us, and Pavel shivered in his many layers. Despite having never encountered such harsh conditions before, even I wrapped my arms around me slightly. My Galactrian blood kept me from feeling the effects of extreme weather, so I only wore two or three layers. Alina gasped loudly when she saw me trying to get out of the house in only two layers, but eventually believed my explanation, only sending me out with one more layer on. Pavel noticed my unconscious action.

'Are you cold now?' he asked, almost challenging me. I shook my head slightly.

'No, not really. But the wind is changing. It means something's coming. I just don't know what.'

'I think I do.' Said Pavel, looking up around him. I looked around too.

'What are you looking for?

'The clouds are different. It means snow!' I shook my head again.

'I still don't understand. What is this snow thing again?'

Pavel didn't answer for a few seconds, glancing at me, then looking up again.

'It's frozen rain falling from the sky. Sometimes it's light, and it looks beautiful. But snowstorms aren't very nice. We stay inside all the time.' I shrugged, still not quite picturing the image.

'Okay, but I still don't get it. Can we go into our fortress now?' I asked, referring to the wooden cubby house that stood tall. Though, not as tall as the big tree. Pavel beamed, and we raced to the ladder that led up into our little hideout. It was not much warmer inside, but we had a small wireless heater in the middle that was comforting enough. I sat down next to it, and turned it on, while Pavel looked through our small supply of food and games. He threw me a box of raisins, and we sat in silence eating, and keeping warm. I looked over rat the massive tree; nearly all the leaves had fallen off, and it was looking bare and frozen, and very different to how it was a few months ago. Even without the multitude of foliage, it still stood tall, dominating its area of the yard. And it was still; beautiful. I turned my attention back to the heater, trying to figure out other ways to improve its function. It was only about five or ten minutes later, Pavel's face brightened even more than I thought possible as he looked outside.

'Tess! Tess! Look! It's snowing!' he shouted excitedly. I looked out one of the little windows, and could not believe my widening eyes. There, right in front of me, tiny white things were falling harmlessly down through the sky, and onto the ground, which was now a white blanket. My hair glowed (as it did many times when seeing new things) sky blue in amazement. This was unlike anything I had ever seen in my short time. Pavel abandoned his snack, switched the heater off, and all but dived outside. I hesitantly made my way outside, not sure what this snow would be like. Pavel was running around, letting the snow fall on his gloved hands, and stamping his boots into the ground, making shapes. I looked up at the sky. It looked normal enough. But little, tiny white things were gently falling to the ground. One flake landed on my face. I shook my head, and my hair turned bright pink in surprise. It was very cold to the touch, but it was soft, and melted not long after. A few more landed on me, and I noticed there were several tiny snow flakes on my shoulders, and my hat. I felt the ground with my hands. It was just a thin layer over the grass, and as I picked up a small clump, it melted slowly. Fascinating. This was yet another new experience for me, but as I looked up at Pavel; he seemed to have been waiting for this event for a while. He was currently lying on the ground moving his arms and legs about, making some sort of shape in the snow. I looked at him curiously, my orange hair signalling the feeling.

'Um…Pavel, what are you doing?' Pavel looked up at me.

'Snow angel! Look!' he got up, and observed his handiwork. I laughed at the shape it made, and although I didn't know much about the beings known as angels, I got the idea. I laughed.

'So, what do you think?' he asked, when he saw me looking around again, hair glowing yellow.

'It's…it's, I don't know, amazing! This is great! We don't have this kind of thing in Galactria at all!' I exclaimed, walking around to see the flowers and plants covered with a light coating of snow. It looked like icing on a cake. All of a sudden, I felt something wet and slushy on my back, and I turned around to see Pavel in a position that only meant he had thrown the cold, mushy lump.

'Snowball.' was all he said. I looked at him in confusion, hair turning teal. Pavel scooped up another pile of snow, and threw it at me. I dodged it this time. _Now_ I got it. I copied his action, and threw my snowball at him, hitting him on the shoulder. We both got that competitive look on our faces that came up all too often, I added to the effect with my now gold hair. The heavier fall helped our cause greatly. And as our fight ensued, we squealed, shouted, and laughed at our antics. This time, Pavel had the upper hand on technique. While we were enjoying our mini-battle, Alina opened the back door, wearing many jumpers. She smiled angelically, also happy with the arrival of the snowfall.

'Having fun?' she asked. We nodded, as Pavel got away with one more shot at me; only half the snowball hit its target.

'I love this! I didn't know snow was this much fun!'

'Well, as much fun as it can be, I think you two have been out here long enough. Come inside, and I'll make some hot chocolate!' this seemed good enough for Pavel. He abandoned the mass of snow at our disposal, and hurried inside where Alina was holding the door open. He uttered a quick 'Let's go Tess!' before heading into the warmth of the house. I was quick to follow. We spent the rest of the evening looking out the window as the snow continued to pile up all around. My hair began to switch from its neutral brown to chestnut. For now, I was truly calm.

….…..…_End Flashback_…

It seemed my first snow season was looking up. But there were more winter wonderland adventures to come. So far, I had only been around our suburb, and had spent a long weekend in Moscow. I still had a lot to learn about Russia itself, let alone the rest of the planet.

…_Return to Flashback_…

That night, Alina and Victorivich sat down with us, and gave us some very exciting news.

'Well, it is December, which means, because I have shore leave, we can go away for a little holiday.'

'Where are we going Papa?' asked Pavel.

'We're going to St. Petersburg for a week.' Victorivich said casually. Pavel's face lit up.

'St. Petersburg? Are we going to see Ivan and Aleksander? he asked. I had no idea who Ivan and Aleksander were, so I remained silent for an answer. Alina was the one to respond.

'Yes Pascha, we will be seeing your brothers. Aleks will meet us when we arrive, and we will spend a lot of our time with them. Ivan is still working, so we may not see him the whole time, but, it should be fun.'

'What about Dimitri? Will we see him?' Pavel added. I assumed this was the third brother that had not been mentioned. I wondered how old they were; they had to be at least 16 to be living away from home. Once again, Alina answered the question.

'I'm not sure darling. He and Natasha are still travelling; they might drop in for a few hours. He said he'd call again tomorrow.' She said, with Vic nodding in agreement. Pavel didn't stop the questions.

'When are we leaving?'

'We will be flying on Thursday, so we will get there Friday, and stay till Sunday.'

Thursday. That meant we left in 5 days. That wasn't too bad. I'd seen pictures of St. Petersburg, and it looked beautiful in winter, with all the buildings topped with snow. And now I was actually going to see them! I was looking forward to this trip; though one nagging worry kept creeping up in my mind…

….…._End Flashback_…

As we sat in the plane, I couldn't help thinking about the first impressions Pavel's brothers would have on me. I knew Alina and Vic had seriously spoken to all of their other sons, about me, of course. They had explained my appearance, sending a photo of me (and Pavel) via PADD, and mentioning my various other Galactrian quirks. I had no idea how they'd responded so far, but I wasn't sure what was going to happen when we met them. Nonetheless, I was still nervous, my occasionally maroon hair displaying the feeling. I asked Pavel about his brothers, because I didn't know anything about them, other than their names. I found out that Ivan was 17, and posted at a university, doing medical research. Aleksander was 19 and worked for a large engineering company; he was the one who would be picking us up from the airport. And Dimitri (the eldest) was 22, and other than fixing satellites for space communication, had been travelling with his fiancée Natasha for a few months. I asked if Pavel had any photos of them, but he said they were from a long time ago, and all of them had changed quite a bit. I grew rather curious as to what Pavel's brothers would be like, if they were anything like him. For most of the plane trip, my hair was turquoise with thoughtfulness. I decided I could wait though.

When we landed at the airport, Pavel was practically bouncing with excitement. I wondered whether he was always like this on such occasions. But even after two months, I figured it didn't take much to get him going. We left the plane and made our way to the terminal; Pavel holding his father's hand, me holding Alina's. As we rounded the corner to the crowded terminal, Alina and Vic smiled as they looked ahead, and, following their gaze, Pavel's face lit up and began waving frantically to someone in the waiting crowd. I craned my neck to see who they were greeting. After we pushed past a few people, I saw Pavel run towards a tall young man with curly dark brown hair. He smiled, and lifted up Pavel, giving him a big hug. They spoke in very hurried Russian that I couldn't quite understand. He put his brother down, and embraced Vic with a one-armed hug, speaking a few words in greeting. Then, as Alina and I approached him, Alina briefly let go of my hand, to hug and kiss her son, to his slight embarrassment. Then, I reached for Alina's hand, and she took it, as I looked up at the tall boy before me.

His hair was more or less like Pavel's (very curly), but a darker chocolate brown. His eyes were also bright, and blue, and like his brother's, were lit up with some excitement behind them. He was certainly tall, an inch or two smaller than his father perhaps, but unlike Vic, he was leanly built. I noticed that when he smiled, his mouth tilted ever so slightly to the left. Overall, his face softened his general appearance, and he looked friendly enough. He looked down at my small figure.

'Hello there.' he said in Russian. 'Are you Tess?' I nodded my head shyly, leaning into Alina's skirt. The young man smiled. 'I've heard a great deal about you. My name is Aleks. Pavel's brother. It's nice to meet you.' He said offering his hand. I looked up to Alina for a moment in confusion, hair going teal. She nudged me forward, whispering:

'We shake hands remember darling?'

I remembered the common Earth greeting, and reached out my small hand for Aleksander to take in his massive one. I giggled a little bit, at the mere size of his hand, my hair turning yellow. He chuckled at my reaction, letting go after a few seconds. He then turned to Pavel.

'So little brother; have you been taking care of Tess here?' he asked playfully. Pavel puffed out his chest proudly.

'Yes! Yes I have. Tess is my best friend, aren't you Tess?' he said, turning to me for reassurance at he end of his sentence. I nodded, giggling even more.

'Yes.' I replied in a small voice, through the giggles. Vic, Alina, and Aleks laughed with us. Then Aleks addressed all of us.

'Well then! Let's not stand here all day! Let's collect your luggage, and we'll go to my house!'

15 minutes later, we were in Aleks' car, where Vic, Alina, and Pavel were conversing at fast pace with Aleks, catching up on all they'd missed in the last few months. I just sat quietly, trying to take everything in. But really, I couldn't understand everything they were saying; they were speaking so fast, it was getting hard to keep up, even for me. Sure I could speak seven languages, but Russian wasn't my strongest point. So, being the scientific observer I was, I just looked out the window, taking in the different landscape. Even when covered in a white blanket, I could see the differences between here and Moscow. And this place was possibly more beautiful than what I'd seen before. It was nothing like Galactria at all. While the car kept going along (sometimes very slowly due to the snow and traffic) I realised I was still tired from the plane trip (I really need to get this jet lag thing under control), my brown hair gradually darkening in shade until it was practically the same colour as Aleks'. Pavel, after a while, noticed me starting to nod off against the window, so he cautiously prodded me. Feeling the light touch against my arm, I went into mini-alert mode, raising my head in alarm, to see Pavel giving me a concerned look, cracking a grin when I started, and turned to him. He too, looked quite tired.

'We'll be there in approximately seven minutes.' He said, very accurately.

And after seven minutes and 32 seconds (I counted in my head) we pulled up into the driveway of a plain looking house. It probably looked plain at first, because it was covered in snow, but it seemed to be a standard sort of house. We grabbed our bags out of the boot (I had very little with me) and made our way into the warm house. Once Aleks had turned on all the lights, I noticed it looked a little bit like our house. There were bits of paraphernalia and pieces of metal and plastic lying around on some benches and tables in small piles, and other general household objects scattered around the place. It looked like an average not very neat human home, I observed. Being in a different house for a few days would give me some more perspective in my study, so I brought my PADD with me as always. Pavel and I laughed as Alina studied (with some disapproval) the messy rooms. Aleks rubbed the back of his head nervously, and set some of the blame on his housemate, who was away for the Christmas break.

'Sorry about the mess. Benny didn't finish cleaning up his mess before he left.'

'_His_ mess? How much of it is yours then?' teased Alina questioningly. Aleks gave a small shrug.

'A lot, but we share it.'

'How do you manage without me?' Alina muttered under her breath, causing Victorivich to chuckle, Aleks throwing them a confused look. He huffed as we followed him down a small hallway. He showed Vic and Alina their room (Benny's abdicated room, kept as clean as possible) and then the spare room where Pavel and I were sharing. We both got two thick and comfy-looking mattresses to sleep on. We spent a few minutes unpacking, Pavel needing a little more time than myself. I just sat on the mattress, tempted to lie down and sleep as I was. Which was quite unusual for someone like me. I only slept for a few hours (I routinely did this every night to suit my surrounding human conditions) and only became extremely tired after being on a plane. Ah well, there's the human in me kicking in again.

Aleks showed us around the rest of the house, his mini "lab" caught the interest of Pavel and I, Aleks rolling his eyes at his brother's antics, and only half-surprised that I was equally enthusiastic. He promised us he'd show us more of it tomorrow. Soon, we were sitting down, just talking, Aleks asking me the occasional question which, after a shy start I began to answer with confidently, my hair occasionally flicking to violet in pride, causing Aleks to hold back a laugh at one point, because he was so surprised. At least _he_ wasn't scared of me. He told about what he did, again, genuinely intrigued by my infinite knowledge. We noticed it had begun to snow again, so Pavel asked if we could go outside. Aleks showed us the backyard, which was a bit smaller than the one at home. We had "conveniently" brought our "attack weapons" with us, and as soon as we were outside, Pavel took them out of his pocket, and our competition began. I admit, it was just as fun here, because it was a new environment, so new strategies were called for. After nearly an hour outside, Aleks called us inside, because their other brother Ivan had arrived. Pavel darted back into the house, while I followed not far behind. I swear if I didn't know any better, Pavel was subject to an excessive amount of chemicals that made him hyper all the time. I was yet to discover what it was, but I _would_ find out eventually. As I made my way inside, Vic, Alina and Pavel were greeting the unseen boy, mainly because he was being hugged so much. Happy reunion I take it. It seemed I was momentarily mistaken. Because I heard a muffled.

'Mama! You can let go now! I'm not about to disappear again!' I wasn't sure whether his tone was irritated or whether he was being sarcastic. It didn't matter, because the next thing I saw was a teenage boy of 17 chatting with the surrounding family, ruffling Pavel's curls playfully. He was quite a few inches shorter than Vic and Aleks; barely past six-foot. But he too was pale, had sparkling blue eyes, and short, dark blonde curly hair. He seemed quite good-looking for someone his age, despite the expression on his face, which I couldn't accurately make out, even from the distance I was standing. Then his eyes met mine. The look I got, I had received before, but it still felt kind of awkward, especially because it was Pavel's brother. He looked me up and down, eyebrows raised when my hair went from its curious ginger, to bright pink in surprise, a second later, shifting to a nervous maroon. But he didn't know what they colours meant. To him, my transformation was just weird. The faint marking across my face probably didn't help my image of normality either. His family caught on with the odd look I was receiving.

'Ivan, this is Tess, the girl we've been looking after.' Vic started, indicating me with a massive hand. I stepped forward a little, and tried a smile.

'Hi.' I said. Polite so far, check. Gaining confidence on my social skills with strangers, check. Good first impressions? Working on it. Ivan nodded in acknowledge.

'Hello Tess. Nice to meet you.' He said stiffly. I suspected if he was a Galactrian, his hair would be something close to an apathetic indigo. But what did I know about what was going through his mind? He didn't offer his hand our like Aleks did. He just remained rooted to the spot. Sensing the awkward tension in the silence, Alina and Aleks kept the conversation rolling. I sat next to Pavel on a couch, as they caught up on news with Ivan. The way he spoke hinted to me that was a little bored with his line of conversation. Eventually he changed topic.

'Are Dimitri and Natasha coming tonight?'

'They said the roads were making it hard to get around, but they're trying to get here as soon as possible. They should make it for dinner.' Alina explained. Then she seemed to remember something. 'Speaking of dinner, Aleks, do you need some help getting the food ready?' Aleks grinned.

'And I thought you'd just come here to see how I was, not my cooking. I've got stuff defrosting.' He joked, indicating his thanks for the help. He and Alina made their way into the kitchen, and began their work. Which left me with Pavel, Vic, and Ivan. Conversation was downplayed a bit, which seemed a little weird for me. I was getting the vibe that Ivan was not entirely comfortable with me around. I quietly asked Pavel if we could play in his room or something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

'It's them!' shouted Aleks cheerfully, as he rushed out of the kitchen, and to the front door. I heard it open, some enthusiastic greetings in Russian (naturally) and a few moments later, saw two people following Aleks in. The first I presumed could be none other than Dimitri. He was very tall, beating his brothers easily in height, over six-foot. He took off his hat, to reveal brown hair exactly like Pavel's. From the greetings he gave, I could tell he had a good-natured air about him as he was enthusiastically welcomed by his family, temporarily unwrapping his arm round the waist of one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen on the earth (literally) she was tall, hardly though in comparison to the boys, slender, and had a face almost as angelic as Alina's. Her hair was straight and a very bright blonde, hanging a little past her shoulders. Her smile seemed to light up the room even more; I could already see why Dimitri liked this girl. Pavel, once again, jumped into the arms of his brother, Dimitri hoisting him up and laughing.

'Ah! Here is our little Pascha!' he said, as Pavel gave him a massive hug. As Dimitri lowered him, I heard Natasha remark:

'My my! Who is this young man? He looks too grown up to be Pavel!' she said lightly, her voice rang melodiously. Pavel crossed his arms.

'I am not! It _is_ me Tasha!' he said. Natasha and Dimitri laughed.

'Alright little one, I believe you. Come here.' She said, pulling him into an embrace. When she got up, Dimitri was looking around.

'And isn't there someone else I'm supposed to be seeing here? Another girl maybe?' he hinted. Alina took my hand and I got off the couch. For what felt like the thousandth time, all eyes were on me.

'Dimitri, Natasha; this is Tess. Tess, this is my eldest son, and his fiancée.' Alina introduced us. I stared up at the two of them, as they crouched down to my level. Dimitri put out his hand.

'It is very nice to meet you Tess!' he said, as I took his hand, which was at least twice the size of mine. I laughed a little.

'Nice to meet you. Do you all have such big hands?' I inquired as they all laughed. I hoped I wasn't being rude. I flushed crimson in embarrassment. Well, more my hair than my face. My face just went pink. The action wither way told everyone what I was feeling. Damn the obvious.

'No, I don't think it's all of us.' Dimitri joked. 'Just the boys.' He whispered.

'But Pavel doesn't have big hands.' I observed quietly. He heard.

'Hey! Yes I do! They're bigger than yours!' he defended. I sighed.

'Maybe. But their still small.' I retorted.

'Either way, can I have a hug?' Dimitri offered. The only sign I showed of being taken aback was when my hair went bright pink. Was he really accepting me into this family so easily? It seemed that if Vic, Alina, and Pavel had, Dimitri was just as willing. I gave a gleeful smile, and wrapped my arms around Dimitri's neck, hair going yellow as he hugged me back tightly. Natasha gave me a friendly look, as she studied me curiously.

'I'm glad we've got another girl here.' She chuckled. 'You'll need to tell me all about yourself later. Alina tells me you've been into space is that right?' she said kindly. I nodded, looking down. Natasha raised her eyebrows in astonishment; I wasn't sure whether it was genuine or not. Either way.

'Wow! You'll have to tell me about that too!' I nodded shyly. I had clung onto Alina's skirt again. She nudged my shoulder.

'Say something.' She whispered. I lifted my head up at Natasha again. I said the only thing that popped into my head.

'You are very beautiful.' I mumbled. This time, I was sure Natasha was genuinely surprised.

'Why thank you Tess!' was all she could say, as she stood up. Dimitri pulled Natasha close.

'Now that, I can agree with.' He said, giving her a small kiss on the lips. Pavel made a disgusted noise.

'Eeew! Yuck!' he exclaimed, mock-repulsed.

'Oh, quiet you.' Dimitri muttered.

Dinner, as it turned out, was very nice indeed. I was more accustomed to human food now, and had altered my eating habits over the last few days to make sure I would eat dinner that night. We all talked about everything; the others astounded by the extent of my knowledge rivalling Pavel's. I was asked numerous questions about Galactria, and such like, and I answered them as best I could, without rambling. I still got the impression that Ivan was wary of me, as if I'd do something incredibly unexpected, apart from changing hair colour every minute. But the others seemed very excited to have me around.

After dinner, we talked more, and had hot drinks. Pavel and I started dropping off on the couches. Vic and Alina announced it was time for us to go to bed, despite Pavel's protests. Alina assured us we'd see the others the next day. After hugs from everyone (save Ivan, not that I was concerned) we got into our pyjamas and got comfy on our mattresses. After Vic and Alina had said goodnight, we spent several minutes in silence. I thought about everything that had happened today. How welcoming Pavel's brothers had been. Okay, I was still hopeful that Ivan would re-consider his opinion of me, but even Natasha, who had been counted as part of the family, had talked me to a lot and over the course of the night, I had really grown to like her. They all got along, swiping jokes at one another, laughing, debating, like they had been together forever. This made me think back to my own family. Mama and Papa. They were all I'd had. Mama had had some distant extended family in Italy and one or two cousins' off-planet in space with Starfleet. And Papa had family members back in Galactria, but they couldn't be less concerned with raising a young half-human relative. I vaguely understood that most of them didn't really speak to my father since he married Mama, and I was born. So, really, I didn't have anyone. Except the Chekov's. whilst lost in my train of thoughts, it took me a several seconds to realise I was silently crying. And it seemed Pavel had noticed too, as he crawled onto my mattress.

'Tess? Are you okay?' I nodded, my face wet with slow-falling tears.

'No you're not. What is it?' he asked, sitting next to me. Sniffling, I sat up next to him, wiping my face in shame.

'It's just…your family. You're all so- happy. When you're together, and you all love each other the same. I don't have that anymore. My parents are gone, and I'm never going to have that again.' I finished lamely. I didn't want him feeling sorry for me. But to my surprise, Pavel smiled his goofy lopsided grin and shook his head.

'I know Tess. You miss them yes?' he didn't give me time to reply. 'But you're living with us now. And we love you too. We can be your…other family, I guess. I know we're not like your Mother and Father, but we want to have you in our family. And we'll treat you like it too.'

'What do you mean?' I mumbled, glancing at him curiously in the dark. Pavel shrugged.

'You know. We'll always stick with you, and we won't let you down. We'll take care of you, because I know Mama and Papa love you too. We've never had another girl in our family, except Natasha, but she and Dimitri are getting married anyway. You may not be my real sister Tess, but you're my best friend. I didn't think I'd ever meet someone as smart as me and the same age!' my hair went from blushing crimson, to bright pink, to a peachy pink in gratitude. I hoped Pavel couldn't see it, but I think he sensed it.

'Are you saying I'm smarter?' I joked, nudging him. He gently retaliated.

'No! I think my IQ is still higher. But you're still smart you know.'

'Thanks.' I thought for a moment. 'So, what you said before, you mean you won't get rid of me?' Pavel tried to stifle his laugh.

'No Tess! Never! We want you stay with us! And we promise; we'll always be here for you.' He said wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I almost started crying again in happiness, my hair nearly glowed peach-pink in relief and gratitude that I had people like Vic and Alina, and a best friend like Pavel. I hugged him back.

'Thank you Pascha. You really are my best friend. Thank you.' I whispered into his shoulder. He just smiled his trademark grin.

'That's okay. You're with us now Tess. And we're going make sure you stay. Cause we don't want you to go.'

**A/N: Awe…cute fluff huh? My Oracle mind (think Garcia from Criminal Minds.) predicts that certain few of you (Sas…Amelli-Kara…Lady E.) will be squealing and sighing, and doing the happy dance (think Time Warp) Reviews are MUCH appreciated peoples! Thanks for everyone who is subscribing and faving, and S/A-ing and all! Prepare for the next chapter, we're jumping forward a little into the lives of our (or my- Tess) young genius'! Big Whoop! Have a look over my other stories, see what you think. Back soon! Peace out.**

**G-4077. :D**


	7. A Few Reflections

**Chapter 7: A Few Reflections**

**A/N: Sorry this took a while, I've done a bit of a rewrite on this one. Plus I've been working on Criminal Minds and my new Harry Potter fic. Again, big thanks to Sasluvsdwrh (I always knew you were a softie. Hoping your editor (N.H. P.M.) will end up the same) for being the loyal supporter, and reviewing in under 40 minutes. Please Note this is set 3-4 years later, I'm making it a dateless chapter cause of the content, mainly being flashbacky type of thingos. You'll get it. **

I smiled to myself as I looked over the photos. My first winter on Earth, and my first holiday in St. Petersburg. There were many pictures I had loaded onto my PADD to look back at when I pleased. Pavel, and Vic and Alina had done the same. I scrolled through the favourites I had kept; photos of me with Alina and/or Vic inside as we pulled faces, or just smiled with hot drinks in our hands. There were some nice ones of me and Natasha (who had now been married to Dimitri for little over a year) sitting down, just talking pleasantly (as girls do best, Dimitri would say). I let out a small giggle as I looked over some pictures of our all-in snowball fight in Aleks' backyard. Every one of us had brought their competitive side out that day. The heavy fall and current conditions made for the perfect snowballs, and we had even resorted to building mini-barricades for each side. I remembered my confusion and curiosity when Pavel, Aleks, Dimitri and Natasha started rolling massive lumps of snow together. The inquisitiveness in me only grew further when Alina came out with pieces of coal and a large carrot. I questioned them over what strange activity they were engaging in. They showed me, it was what they called: "The art of the Snowman". I found it very amusing that people would do such things for fun. But coming from a place that had no snow, I assumed people would make the most of it in this form of creativity. After watching and laughing at a few failed attempts, I joined in the fun, and after some long progress, we finished our large and rather obscure creation. Standing back to admire our handiwork, Vic suggested we get a photo with our lifeless minion. So we did.

I reflected on the afternoons we spent playing games and talking about everything and nothing. And the other times over the time we had in St. Petersburg we spent going around the city, taking in its magnificence. Several times my hair turned sky blue underneath my beanie, to the amusement of my company. I admired the strange architecture of the buildings around the town, asking why they looked round and like the top of a pastry. That was my uninformed opinion anyway. We spent hours walking through the streets, with Pavel, and the others giving random bits of information on the city's history, and other recent developments. I found all of it most fascinating.

But as I flicked to my favourite photo, the grin on my face widened large enough to rival Pavel's. It was a photo of the two of us standing close together in front of one of the famous cathedrals of the city. The tops of the columns and roof were coated in snow, but the blue, white and gold all contrasted in the most beautiful anciently patterned design. There were tiny flakes of snow flying gently around us. And there we were. Just holding each other in the cold, beanies, scarves, gloves and all, but totally oblivious to the conditions. We were just having the time of our lives; and enjoying every moment of it. Both of us were smiling with contentment and excitement. My hair was yellow in happiness; I really hadn't felt this happy in a long time. For that one moment, all my cares were forgotten. I was with my best friend, in a spectacular place, and we were happy. Nothing else to it.

I scrolled through some other folders on my PADD, looking back to various other past occasions I had become part of over the last few years. I stopped at one particular file labelled: Graduation. My forehead creased in vague rememberance. It wasn't much a of graduation to be honest. Pavel and I had finished what Earth called "high school" education, earlier than most humans, I was informed. Apparently, most young Earth people didn't finish their seconday schooling until they were somewhere between sixteen and eighteen years of age. Whereas when we had finished, Pavel was 11, and I was 10. Not entirely normal, but, I digress. Vic (who was off-planet) and Alina had been so proud of us. Alina took us out to dinner at one of the local resturaunts, where they had more strange Earth food I was still to be accustomed to. With our new-found freedom, we were presented with a new challenge. What to do with ourselves now. I remembered part of a conversation we'd had whilst in our usual thinking spot- the big tree.

...**Flashback**...

'One more day and that's it!' Pavel exclaimed in joy. I opened my eyes and glanced up to where he was sitting on the branch slightly above me. I sighed.

'I know. Thank goodness.' That's all I was really bothered to say. Because that's all there was to it. We had one more day of schooling, and then we were done. Amazing how fast we'd gotten through our education. But when you're a genius, what can I say? I found that Earth education actually wasn't too hard at all. The Literature and History I had trouble with in the begininning, but with help, I excelled pretty quickly. We did most of our learning through correspondence; I noted having PADD's came as a real advantage. Occasionally, we went to lectures and other advanced courses in central Moscow when required, but other than that, we were free to learn and experiment at home. I personally was far more comfortable learning this way. It wasn't that I was becoming anti-social (something would be wrong if that began to happen), but it was still extremely unnerving whenever I walked into a school or school or university hall with Pavel. People thought it was weird enough that an eleven year old boy with such a high IQ, was undertaking a similar level of education, but when they saw me; a ten year old hybrid with patterned skin, and hair that changed colour repeatedly, they had even more reason to be superstitious. Yes, even in the 23rd century, people held strange beliefs about other alien races and such; just because they were different. And I was all the above. Lucky, lucky me. Consequently, I had begun to don the use of scarves and hats more often when travelling. The hat thing looked a little weird indoors, so I stuck with standard beanies and caps that covered my hair for the most part. Alina had constantly told me not to be so self-conscious, and that eventually people would get used to it. But once she saw it was beginning to have a slight affect on my social skills, she gave in, and began helping me rebuild my confidence- which I had.

Now, were just enjoying the early summer sun in the big tree. We were having a good season so far, and I was now used to all the changes in temperature and other meteorological side effects that came with the seasons. It was different to say the least, but I was much further down the path of accepting Earth as my next home. Though I missed several things about my other home planet, I really had no intention of returning anytime soon. I was happy here. I had a new family; adoptive parents who loved me, and an adoptive brother who was also the best friend and classmate in the world (again, literally). With my IQ now at 169 (Pavel's at 172, I regret to admit), we had one day of Standard Earth education, and then we seemed free to do as we pleased. The both of us honestly had no idea what we'd do with ourselves once finished. We had virtually no chance of getting any sort of job, because A) We were too young, therefore no one would take us seriously, and B) there wasn't a great deal we were capable of at this stage. Alina too, was unsure of what we'd do now, and with Victorivich off planet for the time being, we were (as the humans would say-) stuck in a rut.

'Pavel?'

'Yes?' he mumbled sleepily from his branch. At the manner of his response, I had to comment.

'Make sure you don't fall off that branch. I don't think I can catch you from here.' I said, smirking.

'Very funny.' he replied lazily. I watched him open his eyes to glare at me, which didn't work. He was enjoying the comfort of the blue skies and warmer temperature so much, that he was losing focus. He gave me a look though.

'Was there something else you were going to say Tess?' I answered reluctantly, unsure whether he was up to discussing this… again.

'What do you think you want to do when you're older, you know, now that we're finishing school and all?' I inquired. Pavel sighed.

'Really Tess, I'm not sure. Most people don't have to think about this now, but…'

'But we're not most people, are we?' I interjected.

'True. We're not most people. I've been thinking… something to do with engineering, because that's what most of my family do, and I'm good at it.'

'You're good at pretty much everything.'

'Maybe according to you, but for now, we could try a university of something…'

'University?' I laughed. 'We've been looking into university research projects since I got here! You really think we should?' There was a whole world, and several beyond the stars that were just begging for exploration, and several other duties. Surely, we could be of some use...somehow. But it would still be hard, I had just turned ten, and Pavel was eleven and a half, who on Earth (and beyond) would give us a chance? Starfleet sounded like a plausible option at present, but we'd still have to wait a few years until we could enlist. What to do, what to do…

'Well, I guess all we can do for now is experiment on whatever we can, when we come up with new ideas. Do you have any better suggestions?' he added as a by-the-way, probably hoping I did. I shook my head.

'No, Sorry. We just need something else to keep us occupied. Staying out here seems nice.' I side-noted, complimenting the weak weather. Sure, I'd experienced warmer conditions on Galactria, but I was slowly starting to forget what that felt like. Pavel snorted.

'Out of the all the weather on this planet, and yours, you think this is just plain _nice_?'

'Well, we've been outside for this long without complaining. What do you want me to say?'

'Oh, I don't know. I'm just bored that's all. What we need to do is some unusual, something…I don't know, outside the square, something different, I mean…' he trailed off, and I looked up to see if he'd actually fallen asleep. He hadn't; instead, his eyes were lighting up the way they had so many times before, and I knew his mind was currently whizzing and whirring, I just couldn't hear all the ticking inside that brilliant brain of his.

'What are you thinking?' I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. The smile on my face spread across my face, as did Pavel's. He gave me the lopsided grin.

'Remember when you first got here? And we talked about the differences between humans on Earth and people on your planet?'

'Yes.' I said slowly, not sure what he was getting at.

'And you said you'd do a study of what life was like here?'

'Yes. But what's this got do with...'

'Tess! We can write a detailed report on the Galactrian people and its differences to Earth!' he said, sitting up more. For a moment I was worried he'd wobble too much and really fall out of the tree.

'What? You mean like an essay report or something?'

'Yes, something like that!' Pavel was border-lining ecstatic now, sitting firmly on his branch, leaning in my direction.

'But what for? Who would read it?'

'I don't know! But when we're done, we can send it to universities who run intergalactic courses. We could send it to Starfleet! Maybe then they'd consider letting us study there earlier! It could work Tess! It could work!' Pavel hopped down to the branch I was perched on. I started in surprise.

'Whoa! Calm down for a second, do you want us both to fall to the ground? Let's take this one step at a time. You say we should continue our study, write as a report, and give it a number of people we don't know?' Pavel paused as he thought about my wording.

'Mm, yes. That is basically what I think we should do.' He concluded. I sighed, defeated. I swung my leg over the branch so I was in another sitting position.

'Alright then genius. If you want to get started, we may as well start now. But maybe you should have lunch first.' I said, playing on our joke of him needing food more than I. he nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

'Okay! Can do!' he replied, and we both climbed our way down the tree, racing each other to the back door.

A week later, Pavel and I were hard at work, inputting as much detail as we could for our study. I, being the only Galactrian around for a few million kilometres, or lightyears, or whatever, was the natural test subject and information source. Our data findings ended up something like this:

_**Scientific Study Of The Galactrian Beings And Their Way Of Life. (For The Benefit Of Human Understanding)**_

_Study Conducors: Esther Moretti, Pavel Chekov._

_**Pt 1:**__** Physical Appearance of Galactrians:**_

_**Height:**__ Males av. 6ft 5inch, Females av. 5ft 11inch._

_**Weight:**__ Varies._

_**Lifespan:**__ Males av. 137 years, Females av. 145 years. (Pure ancestry only)_

_**Physical Appearance:**_

_All Galactrians, apart from being generally a tall and powerful species, have very distinctive features, which distinguish them from other races of neighbouring planetary inhabitants. The first being the markings that appear on the skin._

_**1a) **__The Galactrians skin is a pure glowing white colour, covered by naturally occurring tattoo-like symbols and shapes on 95% of the skin on the body. 65% of symbols are signs of family ancestry, distinguishing which tribal family court each member comes from. All 18 family groups have its own distinctive patterns, with some combining or altering if inter-tribal marriage occurs. The individual will always bear their own unique shapes and signs, appearing more prominently (on parts of the skin such as the forearms) at the time of adulthood (age 17) when career and life paths are chosen._

_**1b)**__ Another, possibly the equally most recognisable feature that differentiates Galactrians from other species is their unique ability to unconsciously change the colour of their hair (head and face only) according to what predominant emotions the individual is feeling. There is a range of approximately thirty separate colours that match to specific feelings by adulthood, the childhood range usually comprising of 23 colours. When in a neutral/calm mode, hair is a silvery colour (though there is evidence of a Galactrian hybrid indicates due to human heritage, the neutral hair state is brown) A list of the colours matching to emotions is enclosed on the next page..._

_..._**End Flashback**_..._

I didn't bother looking over the rest, I got the gist of it. That was the basis of our study. We had decided not to finish our study, because we needed more evidence on Galactrian adults, and the actual planet, and we definitely couldn't do that here and now. I still wondered whether this study would actually get anywhere, whether anyone would bother reading it, and find of some interest. Galactrians were known for being one of the most isolated cultures in the galaxy, and while they had firm diplomatic ties, they kept to themselves very frequently, so deep knowledge of them was scarce. I was probably, at present, the best link Earth had to Galactria; even the Ambassador to Earth in Galactria had rarely made contact with Starfleet. Maybe this could result in something worthwhile.

I put my PADD back on my bed, promising to myself I was never going to lose those pictures for as long as I lived. These weren't just photos, they were memories. And memories are thing I know you keep forever; good ones and bad ones. I sighed, and made my way outside where my friend was waiting at our usual thinking spot.

'You took your time.' Pavel mumbled wearily from his branch, as I climbed my way up the trunk, moving through the branches easily. I scoffed.

'Hello to you too.'

'What were you doing?' he asked, opening his eyes to look at me, as I sat on one of my usual branches. I looked back at him, just shrugging.

'Just looking at photos and stuff.'

'Oh. All right.' he said, leaning back on the trunk. I noticed something he was holding.

'What's that?' I asked pointing. Pavel held it up. It was...a piece of paper? It couldn't be. Hardly anyone made or used those nowadays. My hair switched between sky blue and teal.

'Is that a pamplet?' I asked, hair starting to turn a gingery colour. Pavel nodded

'Yes.'

'What's it for?'

'Nothing.' he muttered. Oh no; he wasn't getting away _that_ easy. I moved a bit, and made a grab for the stiff red piece of paper, hair now burning orange with unquenchable curiosity and determination. He dodged me, but I persisted to reach. We both ended up moving to different branches. But my agility gave me the upper hand. I snatched the pamplet gently, and rested on another branch, while Pavel sat defeated nearby, catching his breath, waiting helplessly for my reaction. I looked over the front cover.

'Starfleet? Pavel?' I trailed off, waiting for him to come in with some explanation.

'I...got it from Papa. I've been looking over it. There's so much potential...'

'Pavel, I understand you want to join Starfleet, but now? You're eleven, do you think-?' he cut me off this time.

'I'm smart enough! You know it! I could start out early, with some sort of training, or a training workshop or something, or...'

'I don't think Starfleet work that way. I know you've got the knowledge, but they don't let kids like us in! Even if we are of genius label, we just have to-'

'Wait? What if I don't want to wait Tess? I know we do our own things at home, but don't you see? We're capable of so much more! All this knowledge, there's so much we can do with it! But no one will let us help them because they think we're too young! Come on Tess! Don't you feel that way too? We're smart, we can do this! I know we can! I've asked Papa if he can help us, and he said he'd try, but in the meantime, we've got to try and get ourselves somewhere! I can't keep waiting like this, it's torture!' he exclaimed frustrated.

I had no idea he had been penting himself up like this. He'd been wanting to get this out for goodness-knows how long, and he felt strongly about this. It was going to be trying, waiting for at least a few years before we could apply for anywhere, except university, but we were becoming too advanced for that alone. We needed someone, something to give us the break to hone our skills. True, we were capable of a multitude of things, but it was just the awkward stage of limbo. I, too found myself slowly becoming victim to this "boredom" of sorts. But I hadn't been here long. I had been brought up on different things. Pavel, he had been an accellerant since he was little. He knew what it was like to feel unappreciated by older people. And the fact that he could communicate better with them, made it harder for him to be around other kids, because they never shared his intellect. Though, I was touched by the way he used "we" a lot, it told me he still cared about what happened to me. But he was letting out what he thought, what he felt, and it was passionate. It was aggrivating to the point he could burst. I just sighed as I went over my own thoughts. Pavel took a few breaths to calm himself down, then leaned back against the trunk again, putting his hands ove rhis face. He just didn't know what to do. He waited for an answer from me.

'I can't say that I don't agree with you, but...' he looked up at the "but". There was always a "but". I caught his distainful glance. '...but, I'm just thinking we may have to try and be as patient as we can, until something comes along- don't interrupt me!' I said, holding my hand up as he went to open his mouth. 'It may be weeks, it may be months, and if anything, it may be years. I don't know, but what I do know, is that we are more than capable of intellectual things people four times our age could not possibly fathom, and we will be given our chance one day Pascha! Trust me! Sooner or later, we will be rewarded for our actions! I don't know how, I don't know when, but eventually, the time will come when we can do something fantastic with our lives! Something we'll have been waiting for for what feels like forever, but will happen in no time at all. You watch Pascha, you wait and see when something amazing happens, when we're doing a job we love, and then you can tell me whether it was worth the wait. You understand what I'm saying?' I looked hard at my trusted friend, staring right back at me, his expression at first incomprehensible, but slowly, his face started to clear, and he began to nod carefully as he pondered over my words. He then let out a deep sigh.

'Maybe...maybe you are right. Maybe something good will happen. It's just...the waiting, now, I...'

'I know.' I agreed, moving closer to him. 'But, it'll be worth it. You trust me don't you?' He stared me straight in the eyes.

'You are the best friend I've ever had. I think, I'd trust you with my life.' he whispered, his bright ocean eyes confirming every single word.

'Then hold me to what I've said. I won't let you down...I promise.'

'Promise?'

I nodded. 'Promise. We'll get through all this, you wait and see Pascha.' I wrapped my arms around him, and he leaned into me, as if to hold me to my word even closer. Little did I know at the time, the level of trust he saw in me. I felt it to the same degree, we just didn't say it much. But when he told be he trusted me, with his life for crying out loud, I knew I couldn't disappoint him. Ever. He was my friend, my brother in arms, my kindred spirit; there was no way I was going to let him get disappointed by the big wide world for as long as I was around. That was something, that when I was old, I could reflect on,and be proud of.

**A/N: Okaaay...yeah. So, another step into Pavel and Tess' close bond. Fluff is da bomb! (Think softie bomb, like the old Kleenex ad with the ducklings, that kinda cute) Apologies for all previous and present spelling/P & G errors. My mind seems to be three steps ahead of my hands a lot of the time. Reviews MUCHLY MUCHLY appreciated. Keep those mega-awesome subscriptions rolling in! My inbox never sleeps! Thanks to everyone. I will warn you all now: Get ready for a BOMBSHELL in Chapter 8! This is where everything changes! Hold on to your hats folks! Tis in progress, and will be up ASAP! The evil genius is BACK in da house, yeah man!**

**Lol's and cookies all around,**

**G-4077 :D**


	8. The Unrefusable Birthday Gift

**Chapter 8: The Unrefusable Birthday Gift**

**A/N: Hello earthlings. Hope you have been keeping yourselves and the planet well. Thanks again to Sas and Lady E, as always. Okay, I warned you last A/N bout a bombshell in Ch8 (and 9). Well, it is slowly falling. Keep reading. Just do it, okay?**

**By the way; lingo wise, most of the time it doesn't really matter if they're speaking Russian or English (or Galactrian), I'll specify when I have to. And also, this is set another two years after the last chapter. Enjoy peoples!**

…

'Pavel! Tess! Hurry up! We're leaving in five minutes!' Alina shouted from her room. There were a few scuffles as Pavel and I took off our aprons, and tried to start clearing up our workstation in the attic. We had been working so hard, we'd nearly gotten it right; all we had to do was let the formula settle for just another…

'Coming Mama!' Pavel called as he raced down the stairs at lightning pace, his arms flapping wildly as he tried not to fall. I just grinned as I hopped down the first few steps, flinging myself over the railing, and landing perfectly in a crouching position on my feet as Pavel reached the bottom step, my hair violet with pride. He grimaced at me.

'Cheater.' He muttered. I poked out my tongue, he copied. Even at thirteen years old, he was still a little kid at heart. Alina must've heard the soft thumping sound my landing had made.

'Tess! You better not be jumping off the stairs again!' she called warningly. My highly trained ears detected she spoke with a slightly amused tone. She was still trying to convince me that climbing and jumping everywhere wasn't the best of ideas. It seemed Galactrian instinct was getting the better of me at times. Oh well, at least I only did it around the house…and the local playground…and, never mind.

'Sorry Alina! What time's the flight coming?' I replied, changing the subject, as I ran to my room and Pavel to his, to grab our things.

'About five o'clock! I want us to get there early just in case!' Alina said, making her way out of her room, and to the kitchen to find her keys.

Vic was coming home today; he'd been off-planet for the last three or four months and having landed in San Francisco a few days ago, he'd finished his work, and gotten onto the next flight to Moscow. I checked the clock on my bedside table. Pavel must have done the same at Alina's last comment, because I heard his voice as I saw the time.

'But Mama! It's quarter to four! The airport's only half an hour away!'

'Yes darling, but I want to get there early! So get out of your work-clothes, and make yourself look presentable please!'

'Yes Mama.' I heard Pavel pulling things out of his drawers, trying to decide what to wear. I mentally rolled my eyes; that boy would get excited over just about anything. I just pulled out one of my favourite pattern grey shirts and blue dark blue leggings. I slipped my boots on hurriedly, grabbed my jumper and my bag, and then made my way to the kitchen, where Alina was waiting. She raised her eyebrows.

'You're very quick.' She observed.

'Just a skill. That or your son is slow.'

'I heard that!' Pavel called through his door. I laughed.

'Just kidding!' I called back.

After a minute, Pavel came out of his room, quickly checking he had everything, and then stood before his mother for final assessment.

'This good?'

Alina smiled, and leaned forward, ruffling his hair.

'You're father will hardly recognise you.' Pavel pulled away, flattening his hair.

'Hey! Mama, stop it!' he retaliated. I rolled my eyes.

'Cute.' I mumbled. Pavel noticed I'd said something.

'Not you too!'

'Yes, me too!' I mocked, taking his bag. He chased me around the kitchen counter and caught me around the waist, pinning my arms so I dropped the bag.

'You are such a child sometimes!' he moaned, letting me overthrow his grip on me, and picking up his bag.

'I'm eleven, I'm allowed to be. You were the one chasing me around, and you're how old?' I retorted. He sighed in defeat. Alina just stood with hr arms crossed, laughing at our antics. She often mentioned how the two of us were growing up so much. We didn't grow _that_ much every day; statistics proved it was no more than a millimetre or so per day. I remembered my Mama and Papa saying similar sorts of things; generally more Mama, because Papa knew the statistics also, so he mentioned the matter every so often. But instead of telling me how much taller I was getting, he'd tell me how much more beautiful I'd get everyday. I wasn't sure whether I believed it or not, but it was something I loved about Papa. Now, I was getting to see my "other" Papa today. I had missed him a lot, as did Pavel and Alina. None more than Alina though. Pavel and I had noticed the way she had been acting over the last few days, getting everything ready for his return.

'Mama! It's not like Dad's going to get mad if a pillow is out of place or something!' Pavel had observed a few days ago, when we came inside, to see Alina re-adjusting small bits of furniture frantically. But, we knew how much Vic's return meant to her, so we didn't hassle her too much, she just knew when to bring them up. The recent experiments Pavel and I had been conducting in the attic had made a bit of noise, and just a tiny bit of mess, but nothing _too_ serious. Still it was enough for Alina to notice. She told us to keep the experimental frivolity to a minimum, so the attic didn't end up destroyed by the time Vic came back. We bent the rules, _ever_ so slightly.

…

From my backseat in the car, I noticed the tension and anticipation gripping my foster family. Alina was constantly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, whether it was a conscious or unconscious action, I do not know, but she kept checking the little clock every minute or so, a little impatiently. I found it quite a query when it came to humans and time. For them, they would say time seemed to go either too quick, or not quick enough. But time didn't do that; it could not move itself faster or slower as it pleased, it was merely just a psychological trick of the human's mind. Pavel told me he understood the theory, and yet the concept of time still got to him when emotions were high, as did with any other human.

Pavel too, was struggling to contain his excitement. He shifted his position a few times, looking out the window, or looking straight ahead, he just couldn't keep still. If he kept it up any longer, I could've sworn he'd bounce to high to the point of bursting through the roof of the car. I knew it wasn't physically possible for someone like him, but it was not something of the sort I wished to happen. I got the impression that if Alina and Pavel could covey their emotions like me, their hair would be going from maroon (nervousness), to yellow (excited), and number of other colours I guessed. I moved my arm over, and took one of his hands in mine. He started at the gesture. I figured it was probably because his mind was elsewhere, and I had taken him out of his thoughts.

'Calm down; before you hyperventilate!' I whispered lightly. Pavel looked at me, his eyes still ablaze with excitement.

'I'm trying, but I can't! How can you stay that still?' he demanded, noticing my fairly still posture.

'Galactrians have a slightly more… disciplined disposition sometimes. I'm doing my best to control myself, believe you me.' I replied, hair switching violet for a moment, before returning to brown. Pavel tried to copy my stillness, but failed after only a few seconds. I squeezed his hand a little tighter.

'Not long now.' I reassured, hair going bright yellow in happiness.

Pavel gripped my hand a little firmer too, just letting him say everything he couldn't get out at the one time.

'I know!' he said, his voice nearly cracking with excitement. I stifled a giggle; his voice was yet to break, but I figured it wasn't long now. He was thirteen and a half, and he had been changing a lot over the last year. Yes, he was still wiry and thin, but he was getting stronger, and taller, much taller. I myself was slightly above average height, being half Galactrian, but Pavel was beginning to tower over me a bit, much to my annoyance. And he was getting moodier too. Not dramatically so, but Alina and I both noticed the change. Yes, ever since I'd first come into the Chekov home, a mere traumatised eight year old, many things had changed. Now, I was only two weeks away from my twelfth birthday- well sixteen days, just over two weeks. Pavel had been nine when I'd first met him, and now he was a growing boy of thirteen and a half. Nearly four years I'd been living with the Chekov's in Russia, and I was quite content to live here for the next few years too. While I was here, I was certain nothing could take me away from my new family.

…

'PAPA!' Pavel shouted as we drew nearer to Victorovich at the terminal. Naturally, Pavel was the first to race to his father. Vic dropped his carry bag, and wrapped his son in a massive hug.

'Oh my goodness me! Look at you Pascha! You've grown again!' he exclaimed as he looked down at his son, who was looking more like a young man every time he saw him.

'I missed you Papa!' said Pavel.

'Oh, I missed you too Pascha, all of you. Speaking of which, where are our dear girls?' he said looking up to Alina and I. I could sense Alina was doing everything she could not to burst forward like Pavel, and engulf her husband in a hug, to make up for all his months of absence. Vic let out a booming laugh as he saw us. I ran towards him, my hair glowing as yellow as the sun, and hugged Vic as well; he put his strong arms around me.

'Well well, who is this lovely young woman?' he asked jokingly.

'Vic! It's me! Tess!'

Haha! I know it is my darling! You've grown too! How have you been?' he asked looking down at me.

'We've been good, but I think someone's been waiting for you a long time.' I suggested slyly, pulling away, so Vic was facing Alina. They just looked at each other for a moment, before saying something together in indistinguishable Russian, and pulling each other into a loving embrace. They kissed each other passionately. Pavel, as he'd done before, made a quiet disgusted noise, sticking his tongue out. I gently hit his arm.

'Stop it! No one said you had to look!' I whispered. He rolled his eyes at me.

'But do they have to do it in public? Embarrassing much?' he countered as Alina and Vic continued to converse, whilst still embraced. I rolled my eyes this time.

'Oh, stop being so heartless. You're so unromantic!' I retorted in a hushed voice. Pavel gave me a mock offended expression.

'I am not! I just don't have a real interest in that kind of thing!'

'Mmhm. Just you wait until you're older, then you can't say you won't be interested! You can't always put science as number one.' I teased.

'Who says I always put science first?'

'I do.'

'Not always.'

'Okay, agreed. But-'

'Are you two finished your debate yet?' Vic's voice said suddenly, making Pavel and I turn to face Alina and Vic, who looked set to leave. My hair flashed an embarrassed crimson.

'Not yet. We'll finish it later.' I said simply, as we made our way to down the terminal. I gave Pavel a knowing look, and he returned it, his crooked grin telling me this wasn't over yet.

Two days later, after Alina had prepared a wonderful welcome home dinner for Vic, I found myself in the attic (again) with Pavel and Vic. We were showing him our latest experiments, some of which involved chemicals and materials kids our age would never be allowed to use, let alone if they had them. It was very rewarding when Vic praised our work, his astonished expressions confirming it was nothing short of the truth. This made Pavel and me very proud of our efforts. Except when Vic discovered the large burn mark on the floor caused by what we thought was fully solidified acid; we hadn't frozen it long enough, and well, after we "dropped" it, the aforementioned result occurred. Vic laughed as we both attempted to recount the story, telling us he wouldn't mention it to Alina if we put one of the rugs and stools to good use. We agreed without delay.

It was late afternoon, and Pavel and I had spent some more time up in our tree, deciding to give Pavel's parents the house to themselves. We didn't mind though; the tree was one of our favourite places, and as summer was only a few weeks away, the tree was an ideal outdoor place to be (that and the cubby house).

'Hey Tess?' Pavel said casually from his branch next to mine. I turned my head to him

'Yes?'

'It's your birthday soon isn't it?'

'Two weeks from today exactly.' I replied, smiling at the thought. Birthdays had never been much of a big deal in Galactria, but my parents treated it as normal, though, maybe not as extravagant as other children's birthdays. Just a quiet, happy occasion with people we loved. When I got to the Chekov's, all three of birthdays I'd spent with them so far with them had been unlike anything I'd anything experienced. Alina went all out (in my opinion) making me a cake, and decorating the house with purple and white balloons and streamers. I noticed she'd done the same with Pavel, and Vic's birthdays (though their decorations were more reds, greens, and blues) She even went to the effort of putting some decorations up for her other son's (and Tasha's) birthday's, even though they were elsewhere, but we had all spoken to them via PADD screens, etc to wish them Happy Birthdays. I found it quite an enjoyable Earth tradition; that and Christmas.

'Why?' I continued, curious as to Pavel's reason of question. He knew perfectly well when my birthday was- May 28th. Pavel seemed to hesitate slightly, before trying to answer hurriedly.

'Well, I was just…um, you know- wondering….was there anything in particular you, you would like?' he said all in one breath. I realised my eyebrows, my hair going bright pink in surprise.

'Well, not really, you know I don't ask for much. Nothing in mind at the moment. Sorry, that probably doesn't help.' I admitted, looking up to see Pavel's inquisitive face drop slightly as there wasn't anything I could suggest.

'Oh, that's okay. I just wanted to know if there was anything special you had in mind. But it doesn't matter.' He said, trying to escape the embarrassment of mentioning he hadn't bought me a present yet. But I didn't mind; I hadn't found a present for Pavel's last birthday until five days before. But he didn't know that. Thank goodness he loved it.

'No, but thanks for asking.' Pavel shrugged in reply. I kept facing him. 'You know I'm happy with anything you guys give me.' I said honestly. After all, they had taken me in, and given me what I needed and more, even if I didn't ask for much. I was quite able to live with limited supplies, I had learned that when I moved from Galactria to my first Starship. Pavel gave me his cute crooked smile.

'I'm glad you're still here.' He mumbled, the phrase slightly out of place, but even so, it meant the world to me (Granted, that's a figure of speech, but being human, I expect you to understand) I smiled in return, feeling my hair go somewhere in between embarrassed and just plain happy.

'Let's go inside. I'm hungry.' He said a few minutes later. I laughed.

'You're always hungry!' I said. It was true though, Pavel's appetite had increased in recent months. I, on the other hand, still ate regularly every 54 hours or so. We climbed down from the tree- well; I sort of jumped when I got low enough, but anyway, we made our way inside to the kitchen, where Alina was drying off some bowls. I inwardly rolled my eyes; even with all the technology in the house (most of which Pavel and I had fiddled with at some point), Alina was still compelled to do some things the manual way.

'Hungry again are we?' she said to Pavel, a he grabbed a packet of biscuits from the pantry.

'Yes.'

'Don't have too much before dinner, all right?'

'Yes mum! Okay!' he said, dodging just in time as Alina went to ruffle his hair. I found it a very amusing game. As I went to go to the living room, Alina spoke to me.

'Oh! Tess! Your PADD made a weird noise before; I think you got a message or something.' She said, pointing to my PADD, which was lying on the kitchen counter. My hair went from pink surprise, to tealed confusion. I grabbed it off the counter.

'Okay, thanks.' I said, following Pavel to the living room. He was on the couch, munching on his snack.

'You got a message? Who from?' he asked. I shrugged, sitting down next to him.

'No idea, I can't think of who'd be sending me something at a time like this.' I replied, still utterly confused (my hair made sure of that) I pressed the READ button on my PADD, and a long, official-looking message appeared on my screen. As I began to read, my eyes went wide in horror. I didn't even reach the last sentence of the message, because I dropped my PADD with a loud THUMP! on the floor. My hair went powder blue/grey- almost white…in shock.

'Tess? TESS! What is it? What's wrong?' Pavel all but shouted as he watched my reaction. I just sat frozen, staring at my shaking hands. _No_, I thought. _No, this wasn't happening, it couldn't be, it was….but, no, it wasn't impossible. How on…?_

'Tess? Tessie darling? What's the matter?' Alina asked with gentle urgency, as she made her way towards me, after hearing Pavel's calls. She kneeled down to my level. 'Tess? Sweetheart, please, look at me. Tell me what's wrong. Pascha? What's it say?' she asked Pavel, who was holding my PADD, shaking his head in confusion.

'I, I don't know. It's written in…Galactrian I think. I can't read it.' He answered helplessly. I silently was thankful he couldn't read it, or he may have reacted more of less the same way as me. Or worse. Alina took my PADD from Pavel's hands, and creased her forehead, unable to read the strange symbols and encryptions.

'Tess? Tess, please tell me, what does it say?'

I looked up at Alina, whose face was close to mine. My hair was still its shocked shade, beyond changing at present. I tried to stutter out my thoughts, all coming at once.

'I, I didn't think….it's been so long since….I thought they'd forget, but…..I should've known…'

'Should've known what darling?' Alina pressed gently. Tears were forming in my eyes. I hardly realised I was shaking my head, trying to find some explanation for my total and utter ignorance.

'How could I have been so- _stupid?_' I whispered, my hands going through my hair slowly, as I tried to comprehend the situation. 'I should've known I'd have to…oh my….no, this can't happen!' I moaned quietly, putting my head in my hands. I didn't know how scared I'd made Alina and Pavel by this. They had no idea what was going on; I did. I'd become so numb with shock, I didn't even feel Pavel sit back down next to me. This was too surreal; why did it have to be now of all times? But that's what would happen, I had always known…

'Tessie, please, you're scaring me, what's going on? What's the message say?' Alina begged, putting her hands on my shoulders, in the hope I'd say something, instead of my now silent state. I lifted my head, and held out my shaking hand towards Pavel for my PADD. He obliged, and I scrolled (with difficulty) back to the top of the message. I didn't want to change it to translate mode, just in case Alina and Pavel read it themselves; then it may become too much. I just closed my eyes for the few seconds that I spoke for.

'I'm so sorry! I should've told you, but…I- I just forgot. I had no idea they'd… track me all the way here, and send me the letter.' I felt a silent tear beginning to trail my cheek, as I stared back at the letter that might as well have been my death warrant. But here, now, this was worse; much, much worse. I read in English translation, not realising how shaky my voice was becoming.

_From the High Council of Galactria;_

_To Esther Moretti, daughter of Renko of the Respicion-Venat Tribe._

_As you are aware, it is the sacred traditional custom for all Galactrian youths from the age of twelve years to be admitted into the Galactrian Academy for Technology and Sciences. This is a compulsory and necessary part of the Galactrian's education that broadens knowledge and development, which helps them choose a career and life path for adulthood._

_You have been placed in the second division of first year students for our noble Academy, and are required to arrive for enrolment and orientation, outside campus, on the next three-quarter moon of Olympus._

_At the beginning of the new term, all applicable students are to meet in the front of the Academy on the Twin Sun Peninsula, Central Galactria City on the next full moon of Olympus._

_You may bring what necessary possessions you desire from your home, but equipment and otherwise will be provided on orientation._

_*******__ It has been brought to our attention that you currently reside on the M Planet- Earth. The Ambassador to Earth for Galactria has arranged for a transportation escort to bring you instantly from your current location to the Academy Grounds. Time of Departure has been scheduled for 20:00 hours (Earth Time) Two weeks from now for enrolment. No exceptions._

_Please have this notice as evidence for enrolment on the day. Thank you for your consideration, and congratulations on your successful place at the Galactrian Academy of Technology and Sciences._

_High Council of Galactria._

I looked up, more silent tears running down my face, as I broke the news to Alina and Pavel. They didn't say anything, they just…stared. It was now I remembered for the first time in a long time, how much more painful silence was. Nothing. Just…thoughts racing, taking it all in. I looked to Pavel; he was staring at the PADD screen, as if hoping the message was fake, and what I had translated said something else. I wish. Alina too, was wide-eyed, staring at the wall; she just let body slump down in her kneeling position. She was hunched over slightly, bringing her hand up to her head. I hoped nothing drastic would happen- like passing out from shock or something. I just continued to shake my head, unsure of what else to say. Except for the one single thing I could say to them.

'I'm…I'm sorry.' I breathed. And when they both looked up at me, I felt an extra surge of unpleasantness. I think my hair went a sickly green colour, but only for a brief moment. As I pressed the translation link at the top of the message, it re-wrote itself into English, my second language preference (Russian I listed as third) I knew Alina probably wouldn't want to read it all in English, even though I knew she was fully capable. But it was my second tongue, it was how I'd told them, it was how the message stayed- for now. Now, they could read it. Of all the ridiculous customs of my planet, this was probably the one I had dreaded the most. I knew if my parents were still alive, they probably would've found some way around this, giving solid proof of my already high intelligence, and that I would continue part-time education onboard a Starship. But they weren't alive, Mama certainly wasn't. Papa was missing, believed dead. Although a small surge of hope had continued to course through me, I knew that in my current position, any search efforts would prove futile. I had come to the realisation anyway that I would never see him again. Him and Mama. What on all this earth could Alina and Vic do for me now? Vic could try and get help from Starfleet; after all he did work there. But I knew it wouldn't be easy. Two weeks to convince the High Council to let me remain on Earth until I turned seventeen at least. They most likely weren't aware of how the Galactrians ran things, their codes of honour, tradition….stupid traditions, and law worked- I did. They would not take my refusal lightly. They would still come for me. There was nothing I could do. I was helpless. For once…no escape.

It seemed Alina had been reading over the message again.

'Tess?' she began gently. I looked into her dazzling blue eyes; they looked ready to spill tears. 'This school, for your people. Is it- definitely compulsory?'

I nodded mutely. Alina gave a quiet sigh. 'It says you start age twelve, how long are children there for?'

I gulped, before finding my voice again, to confirm the dreadful truth. 'Five years. Until they turn seventeen- adulthood. Alina, I…'

'Hush now, it's…it's alright. We're going to sort this out, okay? I promise, its goi-'

'No, it's not.' I said, my voice struggling to maintain even. 'You don't know what Galactrians are like…with traditions, with customs, when you get into this kind of school, you go.'

'But surely, we can explain…'

'What's to explain? They know I'm here; they're coming to get me themselves. The letter said "No exceptions". Refusal or no, they will take me back by force if necessary. There's not much I can do.' I explained, my voice sounding strangled, bitter. I tried to hold back more tears.

'But, but there must be some way…'

'No! There is no other way. They will find me, and they… will- I…' I cut off, unable to finish. The shock was too much. My hair was slowly changing from its shocked pale shade, to the sickly green, to a much darker green- hatred, and contempt, occasionally flicking to the familiar deep, deep blue- sadness, sorrow. All of which I felt for what the Galactrian government was doing to me. It was like under-age conscription. But I was one of few who viewed it that way. Any other Galactrian child would probably be thrilled to be accepted into such an esteemed academy. The school's reputation was unquestionable; nearly every great and successful Galactrian had come from that academy. It was _the_ place to be for higher education. And it was strict, traditional, and firm. And I was going to be there in a matter of weeks. Alina seemed to have been thinking along those same lines.

'They said two weeks from today. If today's the fourteenth, then that means, they'll come-'

'May twenty-eighth. My birthday. Oh sweet mercy, they're coming…'

'We're not going to let them spoil your day.' Said Alina suddenly, moving up to hold me in her embrace. 'Or any day for that matter. I will tell Vic; he will tell Starfleet. They will help you Tess. You're not alone; I swear…I swear we're not going to let them take you. They can't, they can't…' she trailed off, crying a few tears, unable to think of letting me go. And I didn't want to. I'd lost one family already- my parents, and the crew of the _Phineas_. All the people I loved… trusted. And I felt just as strongly for the Chekov's- my second family, my new family. I couldn't leave them, not now. Not ever. I hugged Alina back, letting my silent tears fall, unable to speak anymore.

'How long have you known?'

I jumped, almost forgetting Pavel was sitting next to me. His expression was…almost unreadable. The way his face was set, it seemed like he was still thinking about something.

'What?' I whispered.

'How long have you known about all this?'

It was when he repeated the question, I saw his eyes. Those eyes that struck me right to my heart. Once, normally full of light, and laughter, ideas, and optimism. Now, they were cold, hard, set. They were different. And when I saw his eyes, it was like looking into a completely different person. Something had changed his thoughts.

'I…my father told me of the schools of the planet when I was four. I never thought of ever going, because I thought I'd stay on the Starship and then-'

'But you still knew?' he said through gritted teeth. The tone was almost- accusing. I nodded.

'After I came here, and I finished school, I thought they'd forget about me, because I had already been schooled here. And because I'm a half-cast, I thought they wouldn't let me in. It's just, the last few years, being here, made me forget how I'd live over there. I just let myself forget.' I finished awkwardly. I had no other explanation. It was the truth. I had honestly forgotten I still had a chance of making it in, not that I had any desires to go. Usually, I wasn't one to forget things easily, but my new life on Earth had made me think differently. Pavel couldn't possibly understand all that complexity of my other life. Yes, he's been on a Starship once, but it wasn't the same.

'You just forgot? Why did you never mention it before you did?' Pavel asked.

'I did! Remember? On the plane from San Francisco to Moscow, I told you we had schools in Galactria, but you didn't press the subject any further!'

'Well I didn't know you'd have to leave again four years later; that might've been worth adding!' he said standing up, looking down on us.

'Pavel, stop it! It's not Tess' fault; you need to calm down so we can sort this out.' Alina interjected, stepping in as the voice of reason.

'How is it not her fault? She's from the planet, she knew she'd end up there anyway, she just decided not to tell us until two weeks before!' he argued, his voice getting louder. I just kept holding onto Alina. I had never seen Pavel like this, and it was beginning to frighten me. My hair had gone pale blue again.

'Don't you dare say that!' Alina said, standing up too, still keeping me close, sitting on the couch. She was getting angrier too, shocked that her son was behaving this way towards his best friend, his sister.

'I didn't do anything wrong!' Pavel shouted.

'Neither did Tess!' Alina cried.

'Fine! I don't care! It's not like you can change anyone's mind!' yelled Pavel. And with that, he stormed from the living room, down the hall, and to his room, slamming the door with a frightening loud slam. I just gasped in horror. Why was Pavel being like this? Didn't he care? Didn't he want me to stay? It wasn't until I felt Alina's fingers brushing my cheeks, I realised I was crying again. But she was too. She sat down next to me, and held me close.

'He's upset Tess. He doesn't want this anymore than you or I do. He just doesn't want to accept this. But we'll get through, I promise.' She reassured me. But before I could say anything further, I heard heavy footsteps.

'What's going on? Why is Pavel in his room?' Vic's deep voice asked concerned, coming into the living room. Then he saw Alina crying, and holding me, still in my shocked and upset state. 'What's happened? Darling, what is it?' he asked, running to us in desperation.

'Vic, Tess received a message today. You'd better read it. We've got to do something…before it's too late.'

**A/N: Ouch, burn! Heavy news, huh? I was planning to get all this done in one chap, but because it's too long, and I want to keep you in suspense:**

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**Reviews much appreciated.**

**Your Evil Author: G-4077.**


	9. Just Thinking

**Chapter 9: Thinking, Just Thinking...**

**A/N: Hi again. I've kept you wondering for over a week now, so here goes Chapter 9, which was very long, so it also flows into Ch10 to come. I understand people/friends, such as Sasluvsdwrh was... outraged at what I wove into the last chapter, and all things considered- she probably has reason to. APPY AUSTRALIA DAY FOR 26/01/11! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAS!**

_**Please**_** Read and _Review!_ Keep up those faving/subscriptions! NOW- CONTINUING STORY…  
**

I was beginning to wonder if this night could get any worse. It was late. Pavel had refused to come out of his room, shutting himself in all evening. This made me feel even more terrible; my best friend had turned on me- that was more than enough to make my hair turn dark blue. After Alina and I explained the situation to Vic, and he read the letter, he sat down with us to talk. But no matter how many suggestions they came up with for possible solutions, I knew in the back of my mind nothing would work. The Galactrians had made their point clear, and they weren't going back on their word. It seemed set in stone; we just had to find another way. We all ended up skipping dinner; it seemed none of us had an appetite- figures. Vic had begun talking to several colleagues from Starfleet - in high places and low, urgently going over the situation, and begging for assistance. Some said they simply could not to help, others said they'd help look into it.

I couldn't keep up; I was too lost in my own thoughts. All that stuck in my mind was that the Galactrian High Council were taking me away from Earth back to Galactria they saw it as a logical action for my own good, to receive a proper education. Me, I saw it as abduction with notice. Somehow, we needed to explain that this was where I was happy, where I wanted to stay, that I had practically no reason to continue my education anyway. We had just less than two weeks to convince the Galactrian Ambassador to let me stay with the Chekov's on Earth. And secretly, my hopes weren't looking up.

I helplessly continued to sit with Alina on the lounge, not sure what to say or do. Vic came back into the room after another hour of heated discussions.

'Well? What did they say?' Alina asked urgently, as Vic sat down on the opposite lounge, putting his face in his hands out of exhaustion.

'I spoke to Park, and he's all for helping us. Commander Santova's starting to get a small task force together to appeal to the Ambassador to for negotiations. Right now, we've got about twenty people now who've joined the bandwagon, so, I guess it's so far so good.' He said wearily.

'Thank goodness for that! Well done darling. Tess, did you hear that? Starfleet are on our side, they're going to help you. ' Alina exclaimed optimistically. Vic looked to me hopefully, I but remained… blank. My hair was now somewhere between dark blue, and indigo. I raised my head to face Alina and Vic. They were working so hard to keep me here, even though my chances were slim. The effort they were making for me showed that they truly cared, that they didn't want me to be taken from them. Ever so slightly, my heart began to swell.

'Thank you.' was all I could muster. And when my hair quickly flashed a peachy pink, they knew it was a genuine thank you. There wasn't much more I could do now; I was leaving it to the adults. Alina held me a little tighter.

'Anything for you sweetheart.' She said. I forced a tiny smile. When she loosened her grip on me a little, I moved to get up, slowly.

'I'm going to my room; I don't expect to sleep much anyway.' I announced sullenly. Vic and Alina just nodded. I avoided all further contact by making my way down the hall in silence. Once I reached my room, I closed the door (maybe a little harder than necessary), changed out of my clothes, and put on my pyjamas. I had no idea what else to with myself, except think, and think, and…think some more. There was no escaping this now; I had to come up with some plan of my own. Of all the brilliant things I had thought of before, none of them could ever help me in a situation like this. I hadn't been prepared for this, even though I probably should've seen it coming, I should've known. At this thought, an enormous wave of guilt washing over me as I thought over what Pavel had said to me. In some respects, I was beginning to become convinced that he was probably right- after all; I had known about it, I could've said more when he had asked me about Galactrian life. But not wanting to ramble, I had made the split decision not to open my mouth anymore. Stupid, stupid me. Too conflicted, no matter what I did, it would pose some disadvantage to someone. How had I let this happen? If only…

I jumped at the timid knock on my closed door. I really didn't want to have another discussion with Vic and Alina about strategies to get me out of my extradition. I sighed.

'Please, just leave me alone.'

'Tess? I c-can I come in?' there was a brief pause. 'I know you probably don't want to talk to me at all, but- please… I need to say something.' came Pavel's muffled reply from behind my door. I closed my eyes again, brushing my hands over my face as I thought about why he'd want to talk to me _now_. I sat up a little, leaning back on my elbows.

'Come in.' I said plainly. I didn't know what to expect from him, so I kept my voice steady and even. My door opened and Pavel slowly poked his head through, hesitantly stepping in, and walking over to me in his pyjamas. He sat down on the edge of my bed; I didn't say anything as he did. I noticed he was wringing his hands nervously, and had a…was it a pained expression on his face? I immediately noticed his eyes; they looked different to when he'd been furious at me earlier. His two ocean coloured orbs were shining, softer than they were before. It was the nature of those eyes that made me feel a little more comfortable. I figured by his behaviour, he didn't seem too angry. Well, at least I hoped he wasn't too angry. The more time we spent in silence, the more I was beginning to worry. Pavel finally broke the quietness, letting out everything at once.

'Tess, I don't know if you do, but you have every right to hate me after what I said to you. I just- I just didn't want to believe that what was going on was true. Everything just seemed too sudden… I didn't mean what I said Tess, honest! You know I'd never want to hurt you, I was just- so…angry that your people would even consider taking you like that! And I don't want you to go away, bec-'

'Wait!' I interrupted, sitting up more, my hair flashing teal in confusion, and pink in utter surprise. 'You…you _don't_ want me to go?' Pavel's round eyes just got a little wider. He moved closer to me.

'No! No, never! I didn't mean what I said before! Please Tess, please believe me!'

I felt every single hint of remorse in his voice wash through me. His face too, proved to the way he was imploring my forgiveness. This was my best friend in the whole universe; he had turned on me, telling me he didn't care what happened to me, there was no hope for me anyway. That was enough to cut anyone to pieces emotionally. But here he was, apologising to me, giving me some inkling that in fact- he did. I had no idea what colour scheme my hair was running at present but of one thing, I was certain of.

'I believe you.' was my reply. Short- and to Pavel, certainly sweet. This seemed enough for him, because before I could figure out what was going on, I was engulfed by two long arms, and a thin torso. My breath came out suddenly with the impact, but I remained sitting on my bed, finally wrapping my arms around Pavel's waist, just as tightly as he was; like he never wanted to let go of me again.

'Oh Tess! Please, please, I don't want you to leave! I couldn't bear it! You can't leave!' he cried quietly, but absolutely heart spoken, his head pressed closely next to mine. I held him close to me, wanting to stay that way, so I knew he was still there, that he wasn't leaving me. I hushed him quietly.

'I don't want to leave you Pavel; never ever do I want to go back!' I said thickly, trying to hold back tears.

'I…I can't lose you.' He whispered, trying to repress the onslaught of his emotions too.

'I don't want to be lost.' I replied just as quietly, turning my head to lean into his shoulder, as he continued to hold me protectively. A few seconds later, I felt something wet on my hair, trickling in a small trail down my neck. As Pavel's tears connected with my skin, I suddenly felt everything he did. Every bit of anger, bitterness, injustice, sadness, worry and desperation- I could feel it all. And it hurt. With every fibre of my body, mind, and soul, it hurt me, just as it hurt Alina and Vic to possibly lose another child to the outside world, and to Pavel; my dear, sweet, wonderful soul-mate, companion through and through. I knew the unexplainable deepening bond that kept us growing closer and closer, had been making us stronger. He truly was my fiercely protective, loyal, and unfailingly kind older brother figure. To Pavel, this was something new to encounter when I'd come along. He'd always been the youngest- the one being cared for by everyone.

Then there was me- and not only did he have someone who he could always be with for practically any purpose, but he felt a new part of himself growing inside- another person to care about, and to protect in his own right. With the connection that we'd formed over the last four years, it seemed nothing would keep us apart. And now, this- this was only going to bring us closer, and that way we planned to stay at all costs. Not even a whole race of aliens could take away our spirits that had fused together. A pair we became, and a pair we'd remain. And so I cried with him, keeping each other as close as we could, and crying. This rare moment we shared, proved our fondness for one another, not caring about the other's flaws. Despite the adult decisions we were going to have to make, for now, we were just children. Simple children who never wanted to leave the other's company.

'I promise Tess, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep you here. I don't want to let you go…I- I love you too much.' He said the last bit so quietly; even I could barely hear him. I buried my head deeper into his shoulder.

'I love you too Pascha. I love all of you. I don't want to leave you, ever.' I whispered back.

'I know, I know…' he hushed me for a few seconds, beginning to gently rock me in his arms. I cuddled myself into him, resting my head on his chest, able to hear his heart beating loudly. The sound, although rapid at first, began to slow to a normal rate, as his breathing too started to calm down a little, and I started to relax into him more. This was another reason I loved Pavel, he could always put me at ease. We knew practically everything about each other, so having him with me now was all I needed tonight. We just kept sitting in silence on my bed. I was beginning to fall victim to unconsciousness, when I felt something very light press on the top of my head. I smiled a little, but more so, inwardly as my Pascha kissed me goodnight before he too, fell into his own night time world.

It was only about an hour or two later, Vic and Alina found the door to Pavel's room open, and, surprised to say the least, they found him sound asleep, his arms still wrapped around me. I was almost completely asleep when I heard the two sets of quiet footsteps come down the hall, and to my room. I heard their hushed, whispering voices, but was too tired to work out what they were saying. I heard my door close quietly, and then I remembered nothing more of the night.

...

Eleven days to go. May twenty-eighth was getting closer. Over the last three days since I'd received my notice, Vic (with the fervent assistance of Alina and Pavel) had been hard at work, holding many discussions, debates, and other such meetings with Starfleet members from practically all areas, in order to convince the Galactrian High Council that I had every right to stay on Earth. Point One: I had no 'immediate' family, just a few distant relatives from Papa's tribe, who never wanted to have anything to do with me anyway. My "impurity" made sure of that. And because my father had married my mother in the first place, they'd broken off pretty much all ties with him as well. So- no one to stay with. Point two was that I had already completed an education on Earth, and because I had been classified as a genius since the age of five, further education on Galactria would be generally unnecessary, as I would most likely be able to learn more as I was. Point Three: As it was unnecessary for me to go, I was now being taken off planet against my will. It seemed that something like that, particularly involving a child was generally not allowed, especially since I had done nothing wrong. But the Galactrians seemed to disagree; their turf, their rules. More and more little points kept surfacing to back up my case, Starfleet providing much needed and appreciated help. Though, some of their methods I thought a bit…unorthodox, as it were. But, even as the days of summer were longer, and many hours were spent working, I felt time was getting away too quickly. I had eleven days, and I knew it. As much as I wanted to help everyone, adding in any valuable information I could, there were still the gnawing thoughts in the back of my mind that made me doubt my situation constantly.

I tried as hard as possible not to let it show (stupid hair colouring gave everything away sometimes), but when everyone else was working, and I was alone, I thought about all that was happening, and it made me even more depressed. Despite all that was being done to help me stay on Earth- I was the one being who knew the Galactrians best- even if it was for a few years. My father and I were evidence enough for what Galactrians were like. They were absolute when it came to decisions, quick thinkers, and negotiations were always formal and generally short-lived happenings. Though when it came to tribal politics, things were known to get very heated, with long debates often resulting on the sacred sites of the planet. And it had been the Galactrian High Council who had sent me the notice. They were of all, the most respected officials of the planet, and to disobey them would be a serious offence. How was I to refuse their offer? A twelve year old half-cast who'd been living on Earth for the last four years, against twenty one superior Galactrian beings. What chance did I have? I was going back- like it or not, and only I knew that every ounce of fighting was just weighing down my conscience.

I sat in the big tree, alone to go over my thoughts… again. I had been sitting here for over an hour. Vic and Alina had been working hard with other Starfleet officers to get in contact with the Galactrian Ambassador. I chose to keep my own company, trying to create some plan of my own. Needles to say, my progress wasn't extremely far down the track. Just keep thinking…

'Tess? You there? Tess?'

I gave the quietest sign possible, so Pavel wouldn't hear me. _Not now, please!_ I thought to myself. I needed space, time to allow my own head to go over the finer details- in silence. Slim chance, I figured. Then I heard rustling. Inwardly, I groaned. Not that I didn't enjoy Pavel's company, it was just- now wasn't a very good time.

'There you are! Why didn't you answer me?' Pavel said, as he made his way up the thicker branches. I opened my eyes.

'Because I was thinking.'

'Don't you always do that?' he joked. His smile dropped, when he saw my unamused reaction.

'Yes, funnily enough, but thinking alone also poses greater advantage.' I said, trying to drop the hint lightly. I think Pavel might've picked it up.

'Oh. Sorry, was I..?'

'Yeah, but it doesn't matter anyway. I just keep hitting dead ends. I can't do this.' I mumbled the last bit to myself, groaning as I rubbed my eyes childishly.

'Are you okay Tess?' asked Pavel concerned, as he moved up to a branch on a closer level. I sighed again.

'I don't know anymore Pavel.'

'You were trying to think of your own strategy weren't you?' he asked, half-knowingly. I stared up at him.

'How did you…?'

'Know? It figures you'd be doing something like that. Somehow, I just knew.'

'Sometimes, I think you know me too well.'

'Is that a bad thing?'

'Could be. We'll find out one day.' There was a pause for a few seconds.

'We?' Pavel repeated. I looked at him curiously as he picked out the word.

'We what?'

'You're still saying "we", like you're sure you're staying.'

'Which I'm not.' He raised his eyebrows.

'What do you mean you're not sure? You want to stay don't you?'

'Of course I do! You know that! It's just; it's hard trying to negotiate with Galactrian officials. I'm not sure if Starfleet know exactly what they're dealing with.'

'Tess, it's Starfleet- they've seen hundreds of planets, and they've dealt with the people on them! They can do this! What are…, no never mind...'

'What?' I pushed.

'What are you afraid of Tess?' I chose my words carefully.

'Being refused, being taken somewhere I don't want to go.'

'I understand Tess. And so are we, we don't want to lose you to the Galactrians either.'

'But it's more than that Pavel- you see- nearly the entire Galactrian population are pure blooded Galactrians. They may be a mix of other tribes, but they're still Galactrian through and through. I'm not. I'm different. In more ways than you could imagine. My Papa's relatives saw me as inferior when I was born, because of my human features. People there will look down on me; I won't be one of them. Not really anyway. That's why I want to stay with you, because you don't care how about all that.' I stopped, before confessing my fears again. 'I'm scared Pavel, I really am.'

He stared at me, with sympathy, and with probably a dozen other emotions I couldn't quite figure out. He climbed his way up to the closest branch next to me.

'I know Tess; we're scared for you too. But you don't have to be. Papa and Starfleet are doing everything they can to stop the Galactrians taking you. They've got this covered, okay? It'll be okay.' He put an arm around my shoulder.

'Do you know that for sure?' I questioned, not meaning to sound so doubtful. Pavel sighed.

'Honestly? No, no I don't. But I'm more certain that this will work, than if it doesn't.' he said with a little more confidence

'Is that so?' I said, turning to look at him properly. He nodded. He seemed to be thinking about something else.

'Hey.. Tess?'

'Yes?'

'I... I was thinking...'

'Always a dangerous thing.' I interrupted. He laughed.

'Haha. But really, I've been going over some things, and I spoke to Mama and Papa about it, and I was wondering...now that we're of a certain age, and our intelligence is more advanced, and if you can stay and all that, how would you feel about applying for Starfleet?' My eyes widened.

'What? Starfleet? You mean...seriously?' I asked, amazed such a thing was possible right now. Pavel nodded enthusiastically.

'Yes! I'm very sure we could! It would be wonderful! We could do anything, we could really go into space one day!' I just sat on my branch, a milion other thougths racing by. I met eyes with Pavel, and gave him the answer I knew he'd been longing to hear.

'Yes, yes, if we can, I say yes. This'll be brilliant!' I exclaimed. Pavel lifted his hands up in happiness.

'I know! Just think! Us in Starfleet! We may be the youngest cadets in the world!' he said. We both laughed at the thought. Then, after a few seconds, I shook my head. Pavel looked curiously at me.

'What is it?' he asked, cocking his head to one side.

'How is it that you're always…what is it you people say? "A ray of sunshine", you always know how to make me happier. I couldn't have asked for a better friend you know.' I said, looking straight into his beautiful eyes. He looked back into my glowing grey ones. He moved his other arm to take my hand.

'And that's all I need to hear from you.' He gave me his still-cute lopsided grin. I giggled a little, never able to resist against him when he pulled put that smile. And the worst part was I didn't know why. He pulled me a little closer, so our heads were touching. For a few seconds, I felt a sort of electric, fuzzy feeling, sort of light-headed, but that was probably because I'd been up the tree too long.

Seven days to go. Contact had been made with the Galactrian Ambassador. While I breathed a sigh of relief, I realised how much more scared I was now. This was it. Starfleet were going to launch their case before an alien high official to convince him to cancel my extradition and education. With the tension in the air, my hair could've easily become permanently maroon- I was that nervous. I had been told (much to my dislike) that I wasn't allowed to be present during the meeting. Stupid rules. Vic had warned us the meeting would go on for a while, so we should busy oursleves with othre things. Probably to keep our minds off things. Not my mind- I was the subject of the fighting after all, and that made me feel pretty bad. As Vic left to go to the Moscow Starfleet Base, my stomach knotted up as I watched him through the front window. Suddenly I felt a hand clasp mine. I turned in surprise.

'Don't worry; Papa knows what he's doing.' Pavel whispered. I looked at him with grim hope. Words just couldn't form, I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. Pavel gave a warm smile, and wrapped one of his arms around me, allowing me to hug my arms around his waist in return. We just stood, looking out the window at the trees and the street in silence, now praying for a miracle.

...

The days had been long and tedious, but ridiculously short at the same time. Little progress was being made, and I had found myself becoming more and more anxious as the days flew by. Alina and Pavel too, I noticed had been a bit more edge lately, but were keeping strong for me. And VIc had been working incredibly hard with Starfleet- thankfully with some success. The commitee had managed to convince the Galactrian Ambassador to "strongly reconsider" his initial decision, and while his final decision was still pending, Strafleet reported confidently that it would either be delayed, or with the slightest of chances- cancelled. If It was delayed, they would launch another appeal. But while hopes seeemed to be looking up, I wasn't so sure. May 28th was creeping closer and closer, and for once in my life, I wished my birthday wouldn't come so fast. As I looked around my room, I noticed how much I had compared to four years ago, when I had arrived with two boxes and a backpack. Now, not only did I own a number of possessions and a few more clothes, I picked out items I knew I would keep with me forever. If only it were that simple with people...

**A/N: Okay, had to divide this into 2 chaps, again- turned out very long. Keep reading peoples!**


	10. The Day Never Forgotten

**Chapter 10: The Day Never Forgotten**

I woke up around 6am- a bit late for me, but due to my recent lack of sleep, my body seemed to have insisted on some rest. I looked up at the ceiling, when suddenly a realisation hit me: I was no longer eleven-I was twelve! The fact that I fallen asleep, and missed the small milestone at 3:14am exactly, told me I must've been more worn down than first thought. The usual feeling of excitement of waking up on one's birthday was no exception to me, I was thrilled. But as soon as the happy feeling came, it soon faded, a new feeling overtaking me- sending my hair from yellow to a sickly green, and then to maroon. Today was it- May 28th- it was..._today_. Despite all Starfleet (namely Vic) had done for me, something was still amiss; something still didn't feel right. And I couldn't quite figure out what. But I tried to shrug off the eerie feeling, and got changed into my favourite top, skirt and leggings. As I walked into the kitchen, I was greeted with a loud:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESS!"

I stood, slightly dumbfounded for a second, as I took in the sight of my cheerful foster-family. Alina was at the kitchen counter, Vic was at the table, and so was Pavel for a second, before he raced towards me, engulfing me in a massive hug, lifting me off my feet slightly. I laughed in surprise, my hair going from pink to yellow again.

'Happy birthday Tessie!' he said in my ear.

After I had been hugged by Alina and Vic, we had breakfast, and where I got to open one of my presents. The first one was from Alina- and my hair went sky blue as I opened it. It was an e-book on Earth horticulture- with detailed text and pictures on all sorts of native plants and flowers. I didn't get a chance to read all of it at once, but it was truly fascinating. We ended up going to the local park for a spectacular lunch, and a wonderful afternoon. When we got home, I found another present waiting for me. And yet again, my hair glowed blue so brightly; it could've rivalled the sky outside. What I unwrapped was the most beautiful shawl I had ever seen. It was long; long enough to cover my head, shoulders, and chest. It was a deep, rich, gorgeous shade of midnight blue, with thin silver linings of rose patterns. It silky feel almost made me shudder. I promised myself I would never let anything happen to this shawl, it was so beautiful. And when dinner came, I had one more present to open- from Pavel. It was a very small-wrapped gift, which only made me more curious, my hair burning orange as I held it in my hands. I unwrapped it, and gasped in amazement, hair flashing bright blue and yellow. It was a pendant on a silver chain. The pendant was a crystal that shone all the different colours of the rainbow, it flashed, and sparkled, and glowed brightly, and in the middle of it, was a small engraving.

'To Tess, Love Pascha.' I said quietly. I looked up at Pavel, who was sitting close to me. He looked anxious to find out if I had something to say or not. For once, I was speechless.

''Oh, Pavel...' I didn't know what else to say. He averted his eyes from mine, concentrating on his hands.

'It was all that would fit on the stone. Do...do you like it?' He mumbled nervously. I smiled possibly the biggest smile my mouth would let me achieve.

'It's...it's the most beautiful stone I've ever seen! I love it!' I put the necklace on the coffee table, and then leapt at Pavel, wrapping my arms around his neck. 'Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!' I cried, my hair glowing as yellow than the sun. Pavel was at first, taken aback by my sudden reaction, but wrapped his arms around my waist and held me, thankful that his gift had been received so well. 'You really are the best Pascha, thank you.' I whispered so only he could hear. He chuckled quietly, holding me close.

'Only the best for my little rainbow.' he said, using my joke name. I pulled away from him suddenly, a look of mock outrage on my face.

'I'm not _that_ little!' I defended. Pavel's smile grew even more.

'Yes you are...' he said, grabbing my arms in challenge. I smirked.

'No. I'm. Not!' I rebutted, throwing him off easily, my Galactrian strength winning over this time. This time, Pavel took me around the waist and began to tickle me. I reacted, trying to get away, but he was too quick, he already had me. I squealed, he laughed, and we struggled against each other, both falling onto the floor, and rolling around on the carpet as Vic and Alina watched from the kitchen in amusement, coming into the living room with drinks. After five consecutive minutes, we both stopped, breathing heavily, and sitting up against the lounge, still laughing.

'Tess?'

'Mm?'

'Do you want to put on your necklace?' he asked mildly. I immediately nodded.

'Oh yes please!' I exclaimed, moving to get up. But Pavel pushed me down.

'No, I'll get it.' he offered. I waited on the floor, moving myself up to sit back on the lounge. Pavel appeared again a second later, with my present in hand. He told me to sit up, I did. and he gently put the silver chain around my neck, doing up the clip-hook at the back.

'You know, it can only be opened and closed now by two people now.'

'Why is that?' I asked curiously.

'Because the chain is a special alloy that reacts to the first people that touch it. Which is you, and me. So no one can try to take it off you and break it.'

'He chose well.' Alina commented from her seat across the room.

'Wow, cool. I'll remember that.' I paused for a second, holding the precious stone in my hand, gazing at it in pure awe, thinking how'd I'd keep this forever, no matter what happened, no matter where I went now... Pavel noticed my little daydream.

'Tess? What is it? I looked up, pulled out of my thoughts. He looked curiously at me, and I just grinned, as I had many times today.

'Nothing. Just...thank you, for everything.' I said wholeheartedly, wondering if Pavel knew the full meaning behind my words.

'Anything for you Tess.' he replied, pulling me close again. I rested my head on his shoulder, quite comfortably. I had no problems being close to Pavel, and he seemed to have no problem being close to me. Granted, he still had a few things to learn when it came to personal space, but otherwise, he was virtually care-free. We decided to watch a film, going through a large selection before deciding on a fun action film. The four of us sat in the room together, enjoying every moment we had.

.

After half and hour, there was a loud knock at the door. We all looked up towards the hallway. Vic and Alina looked at one another confused.

'Were you expecting anyone darling?' Alina asked. Vic just shook his head.

'No. You?' she repeated the action of no. Pavel just shrugged. There was another knocking at the door, much louder this time. Vic stood up.

'Stay here.' he said firmly. And he walked down the hall, and to the door. We stopped the movie and everything we were doing to try and listen. We couldn't quite make out who it was, but it sounded like more than one person, and they sounded serious. We heard Vic's voice too, serious too, and...angry? It took me a few more moments, but as soon as my advanced ears picked up the familiar sounding tongue, I gasped, my hair once again returning to the awful shade of pale blue/grey. Pavel and Alina looked at me in sharp alarm.

'No...' I whispered. 'It...can't be.'

'Tess? What is it?' Pavel demanded, shaking me slightly. Suddenly, Vic called for Alina urgently. I looked to the clock. 7:49pm.

'I can't believe it. They came. They came...' I said shakily, the fear evidently growing in my voice. Alina soon caught on.

'No!' she gasped, and rushed to her husband. Pavel somehow didn't quite follow.

'Tess? What's going on?'

'7:49 Pascha. I have eleven minutes. Oh...' I moaned, letting out a breath in distress, all panic showing on my face and my hair. 'because a Galactrian never breaks their word. Ever.' I looked up into Pavel's terrified eyes. 'They're here.'

It took a moment, only a moment for him to realise. His face contorted into a look of horror.

'No. No! No! They can't! I thought...'

'I know, so did I. But I always had my doubts Pascha; those traitors were always planning to come for me. I am so stupid!' I cried, my voice getting louder, cursing myself, my ignorance, having to keep on secret for a day since I realised. All the celebrations had caused my mind to travel elsewhere, but I was ready. Ready for the birthday surprise I couldn't back out on. Pavel grabbed my wrists firmly.

'No. The can't do this to you Tess, I-'

He was cut off by heavy footsteps. Vic and Alina trailed two extremely tall Galactrian officials, their pale blue and blood-red robes swishing about them like a storm. I heard Pavel gasp, as he took in the sight of a fully frown, pure blood Galactrian. Over six foot six, long-limbed, and strongly built, they seemed to tower over everything. They had impossibly glowing white skin, tinging on grey, with dark, prominent dark coloured markings- to me, it was clear to tell which tribal group they came from. Their shoulder-length hair was currently a neutral shade of silver; they seemed all business, and must've been trained to block out all signs of showing other predominant emotions while on duty. Yeah, as if that wasn't intimidating enough. My eyes just widened slightly as all the memories of my other home planet flew back clearly to my mind as I stared at the officials. Either out of fear, or in an unconscious action, Pavel took a few small steps back, standing directly in front of me, as if trying to block me from view. Painfully sweet of him, but I knew it was already too late. The Galactrian officials looked right at me, or Pavel, I wasn't quite sure. Their glowing metallic silver eyes blazed towards us. One of them spoke, with a deep, crystal clear voice in perfect English.

'Are you Esther Esme Claire Moretti?' There was no questioning who that was directed to. I glanced over Pavel's shoulder, and he raised himself up slightly to prevent me from being seen further. Instead, I side-stepped him slightly, and looked straight at the two officials.

'I am.'

'Tess, what are you doing?' Pavel whispered through gritted teeth, still rooted to the spot.

'Shush, let me talk.' I replied in the same tone, all the time, my hair still pale blue/grey. We turned back to the two officials towering above us. Vic and Alina had guilt-ridden, helpless expressions on their faces, standing close together to the side. The first official spoke again.

'Are you ready?'

There was a long pause; I hesitated, because a) I was still terrified of facing the officials, even after all these years. The fact they were my own people showed my sudden cowardice. And b) I knew my answer would probably shock my foster family. I took a deep breath, bowing my head slightly with my answer in plain English.

'Yes.'

'NO!'

'What do you mean?'

'Tess!'

The cries from Alina, Pavel, and Vic all came at once. I gulped nervously, my hair going maroon, then a sickly green colour, and then, back to maroon as I directed my answer to Vic.

'I'm sorry, I didn't realise until it was too late. A Galactrian never breaks their word; they were always going to come for me. I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do.' I blinked back tears, so was Alina. Vic had gone white as a sheet. Pavel was still unmoving; I couldn't even fathom what he must've been thinking.

'But, but then, you…lied!' Vic shouted at the Galactrian officials. They made to move, but Vic stepped back, protecting Alina. 'You lied to us! You said you would delay! You traitors! How could you-'

'Stop!' I cried suddenly, unable to bear it any longer. Everyone looked to me. The second Galactrian official moved away from Vic and Alina, and turned to me.

'Do you have your possessions with you?' he asked, in a similar light, clear voice. I nodded.

'In my room. I've got them.'

''What?' shouted Pavel, rounding on me. Looking from him, to Vic and Alina, to the officials, I felt a single tear falling down my cheek. The second official continued.

'You have nine minutes.' At this news, all I could muster was a whisper.

'I'm sorry.' And then I sprinted my room.

.

'Tess! Tess, wait!' cried Pavel running after me. By the time he got to my door, I was grabbing the large backpack, and travel bag sitting on my bed. His jaw dropped; my room was perfectly neat and tidy, most of my other possessions put away. I was already packed. He shook his head in disbelief.

'No, no, you- you didn't, you can't-'

'They will take me by force either way, I only packed when I had the time today.'

'You can't leave Tess!'

'Do you want to see me killed for treason?' I yelled back. It was true, if I put up any resistance, on Earth or on Galactria, I was now old enough to be trialled for something once I got to the Academy. There was no win-win this time. My answer made Pavel stop. He froze in the middle of my doorway, still shaking his head gently, still unable to believe what I was doing.

'I'm sorry Pascha. I have to do this. Please…please forgive me.'

I made my way to the door, Pavel made no attempt to block my path, I just nudged my way past him, and he followed blindly. After I had looked at my room for the very last time, I looked to see everyone waiting at the other end of the hall, near the front door. Alina immediately burst into tears when she saw me.

'No! No, please Tessie, you can't do this!'

'Yes, I must. You know I don't want to-' glanced at the officials out of the corner of my eye- they were at the door. '-but I don't have a choice.' I finished slowly. 'Please, just don't hate me for this.'

I dropped my bags, and Alina raced forward to give me the tightest, most loving embrace any mother could give a child. Not wanting to let go, she cried, and I cried with her, my hair becoming a vibrant dark blue in sorrow.

'Oh my sweetheart, I love you so much! Please, please, don't let me lose you! You're still my beautiful little girl!' she sobbed.

'I love you Alina, I love you too!' I wept into her shoulder, slipping back into Russian. We kissed each other traditionally, then again for love and remembrance. After a minute, Vic put a hand on her shoulder, and she reluctantly pulled away from me, standing up to let her husband make his goodbye too. He looked own on me, the sadness all too clear in his lined face.

'You've been the most beautiful daughter I've ever had. You always will be Tessie.' He lifted me up, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, as he gave me one of his massive bear-hugs. I felt him shaking, as his tears fell as fast as mine.

'I love you Vic. So much!' I felt him placing kisses on my head, I just wanted to stay in his protective embrace, and stay here. We gave it another minute or so, before he finally loosened the hug, looking down, and stroking my head gently. He then looked around to his devastated teenage son. I silently shed more tears, as he began to do the same, his beautiful ocean eyes swimming with teardrops, and signs of a broken heart, and broken soul.

Without thinking, as if our minds were still sparked together, we lunged for each other, and I threw my arms around his neck, while he gripped me fiercely around my middle. I didn't care if it hurt or not, the physical pain was nothing now.

.

'No, no Tess. Don't leave me! Please, I can't live without you!' he said, as he held me tight, and I held onto him.

I fought the urge to just run with him somewhere, anywhere, where no one could chase us, and find us. In no way did I want to leave the one living person who I was truly connected to. My dear, sweet Pascha.

'Pascha, Pascha, you have no idea how much I'll miss you! I promise I'll come back, I swear on my life- I will come back to you! I will!'

'Just don't go Tessie!'

'I have to, but I'm coming back, I swear I am!'

'Please Tess, say it again, say you will!'

'A Galactrian never breaks their word Pascha- I WILL come back!' I cried fiercely. 'I will! I promise…' I managed to pull away by a few centimetres, fumbling for the necklace he had given me. 'This will remind me every moment, I promise I'll always keep it- for you, all of you. My family- the Chekov's.'

Pavel pulled me to him again, and kissed me gently on the forehead, his long arms wrapped around my shoulders, fitting perfectly with my body. I moved my hands up his torso, and then up to his shoulders, to hold him. And ever so gently, I leaned up, and planted a soft kiss on his head. I ran my hands through his gorgeous curly hair one last time, remembering how comfortable and warm he was to be around, and wrapped my arms around his neck again, to give him a kiss this time on the cheek. He pressed his forehead to mine again, and we stayed like that for another few seconds.

'I'll never forget you Tess, I'll always remember my little sister.'

I choked on my tears- in four years, that was the every first time he had even called me his little sister. Never, in all that time, had he actually verbalised it, but the feeling was always there. Now, he had said it, and I loved him so much more for it.

'And you- you'll always be my other big brother. My Pascha.' I responded in a hushed voice. We were soon interrupted by the Galactrian officials.

.

'We have little less than one minute, we must prepare for departure.' One of them stated. I looked up at them, neither seemed to have comprehended the seriousness of what our goodbyes meant. Stupid formalities, I would have to get used to this. I nodded in surrender. Still holding onto Pavel slightly, I followed the Galactrians, who had my bags, outside to the front yard. The sky was clear, and all the stars were out, twinkling and shining down on us. It was too bitter sweet for me this time. I gave everyone one last hug, thanking them for all they had done for me, and reaffirming my promise of return as soon as I was able to leave after graduation. Five years from now. I couldn't last that long on Galactria- I need to be here, on Earth, with my other family. The two officials stood on either side of me, both gripping my shoulders, and with the size and power of their hands, there was little chance of me getting away. My hair still blue, the tears still streaming down my pale, marked face, I looked at the three people I had loved as a family for four blissful years. I held my hand up in a Galactrian salute, they followed suit. And as the officials counted the dying seconds away, I felt a strange heat entering my body, and for the final time, my eyes met those of the Chekov's, and I said something, three words in farewell. For the last second, I stared into the deep, damp eyes of Pavel, and uttered the three words on Galactrian I knew he understood best. Three words I hoped with all my heart, he'd remember me by for as long as I was gone.

I felt the heat surrounding my whole body, and lifting me up with the officials, back to Galactria, back to my planet of birth. I gazed upon my foster family, and the backdrop of Russia behind them. It was the last time I saw the Chekov's, and my Pascha, for a very long time.

**A/N: Okay, okay, you may hate me, but you wanna find out more yeah? Yes, you know you want to…**

**You have no idea how long I've been waiting to finally type that up! I'm so happy I've made it this far. Something tells me Sasluvsdwrh will not love me as much tomorrow, I promise I will attempt to live out the next week to keep on writing. Sadly (for you maybe) the next real chapter (beware an in-between bit in a few days) will be a week or two away, I'm giving this a short break, so I can get Ch's 3 and 4 of Criminal Minds going- it's gained me as many followers as this one! Which is most pleasing! Reviews are appreciated, keep the subscriptions up!**

**From random person floating in space (think TARDIS)**

**G-4077 :D**


	11. In Between

**A/N: This is just an in-between for continuity sake. I confused myself while this story got started, so for all our sakes- here's how Tess's colour scheme goes. Gotta love creative license, right?**

* * *

**Colours/Emotions**

Deep Pink: Love/Passion

Scarlet-Red: Anger/Annoyance

Crimson: Embarrassment

Burnt Ginger: Concentration (Thoughtful)

Light Orange: Curious (Thoughtful)

Gold: Determination

Golden Yellow/Blonde: Joy/Excitement

Olive-Grey: Unwell/Pain

Lime Green: Anxiety/Nervous

Leaf-Deep Green: Contempt/Envy

Turquoise: Confusion

Pale Blue: Fear/Shock (white in extreme circumstances)

Sky Blue: Amazement/Awe

Midnight Blue: Upset/Depressed

Indigo: Apathy

Violet: Proud

Lavender: Contentment

Bright Pink: Surprise

Peach: Relief/Gratitude

Caramel-Brown: Calm

Dark Brown: Tired/Weary

Silver: Calm (full blood Galactrians only)

Black: Deceased

* * *

**A/N: That's all for now. If you think I missed any particular colour or emotion- PM me, and I'll include it if applicable. Keep up those reviews please!**

**G.**


	12. Thinking of You: Double Chapter

**Ch11: Thinking of You**

**A/N: Greetings Planet Earth; currently noticing the lack of recent subscriptions and reviews- does no one like me? (Apart from Sarah and Lady E, my loyal supporters) Okay, maybe I'm being a tad melodramatic. This is a two-in-one chap, so I can get numbers back in order after my in-between. Please note the slight POV/circumstance changes, and slight miscalculations of Stardates, apologies. Enjoy earthlings!**

_Starship Enterprise. Stardate: c. 2258_

_Chekov's POV:_

'I'm losing her, I'm losing her!'

And then, she was gone.

'I lost her.'

No, no impossible, she was just…gone. I dared for just one second to look at Commander Spock. On second was all I needed. He was just…staring, staring at where his mother had been. The woman I couldn't save. Oh god, what have I done? She was dead. And it was my fault. I slumped back in my chair, hopelessly sitting there, as the silence of the transport room became overwhelming. Dr. McCoy and the others got the remaining Vulcans to the Medical Bay, and suddenly, everything felt a whole lot heavier. Distantly, I heard someone call me back to the Bridge. Reluctantly, I got up, and slowly made my way through the dull corridors of the ship. I was too afraid to look at Mr. Spock now; he was a Vulcan, an endangered Vulcan, still, a powerful Vulcan. He would probably kill me. I had failed my job. I had failed, that was not something I normally did, not as far as my job was concerned. What would the others say when I got back?  
.

'Hey, you okay?'

I didn't hear Sulu the first time. I just started blankly at my keyboard, slightly unsure if I was meant to do something with it.

'Chekov? Are you okay?'

I turned my head; Sulu was looking at me funny, he seemed concerned, though his quiet voice seemed to be suppressing something. I nodded, my head felt so heavy.

'I'm fine.'

...

After my long shift, I headed straight to the astronomy viewing room. The one place I could be alone and think to myself without distraction. As I entered my pass code in, and stepped into the room, I let out a sigh of relief. The stars tonight were of the Milky Way. It didn't matter which perspective or planet you looked at that galaxy from, it was always beautiful. But this wasn't what I wanted to look at tonight. I adjusted the settings of the control panel, and finally found what I was looking for. The Quam-Pluresastrum Galaxy, one of the smallest star clusters in the universe, but it was the closest one that could be seen from the tiny planet of Galactria. Tess would be watching these stars tonight.

I lay down on one of the squishy couches, and looked up at the wonderful, bright stars and comets. It was a pleasantly comfortable experience, just sitting and staring up into space, but it wasn't the same with Tess. We always used to stargaze when she was around. In our little wooden-house, in the attic, in our rooms, even in the big tree, it didn't matter; I watched the phenomenon of the galaxy, and I had Tess by my side. It was her I needed now; I wanted the softness of the chair instead to be her cool skin, her relaxing presence. As much as I had loved Mama's hugs, I still wanted Tess. She would know how to help fix this situation, she always had ideas, she'd know how to take the weight off my shoulders; she always knew. It had been four years, and everyday, I missed my Tessie even more.

If she were here, she would've been friends with everyone; her sociability had regained itself over the period of time she'd spent on Earth. She could've talked for hours on end with Spock on every possible topic; she could've learned about more Earth cultures, and done research with Sulu on horticulture and other strange things only they could be so passionate about. She'd probably have a few things to say to Dr. McCoy on medical science, and press him with questions on the unique scape of his home state of Georgia. She and Lt. Uhura could have had countless discussions in multiple languages on whatever they wanted to talk about, learning much from each other. And she no doubt would have had a most bizarre interaction with Mr. Kirk, who would probably go insane at Tess' persistent ability to outsmart, or out-do him in an unlimited range of activities. It was funny to think about such things that may have happened, were Tess still here. Had she stayed longer with me, we both would've ended up together on the _Enterprise_, and things could be even happier still. But she wasn't here, she wasn't on _Enterprise_, with the crew, she was further away than I ever thought possible.

She'd always had questions about why things from the sky on Earth were as they were, always amazed at how different it was compare to her home planet. It had always been hilarious, whenever her hair had turned bright blue in awe or yellow when she was happy or excited. I missed her colourful moods, the way her hair always changed with them, how her skin glowed white when she had an idea, everything about her. And she was gone; taken away to that Academy on Galactria. I had gained very little out of constant research, in my attempt to find out more about where Tess was.

I spotted out certain stars and travelling meteors that Tess had shown me from pictures. I stared up at the sky for what felt like forever, and hoped with everything I had that Tess was doing the same.

'Where are you Tess? I need you now. I need you to come home. You'd know how to make all this right. Where are you?'

…

_Galactrian Academy of Technologies and Science. Stardate: c. 2258_

_Tess' POV:_

I closed my eyes and let the gentle breeze fly across my face. It was one of the only comforts I could find now. Alone. It wasn't like I had anyone to turn to, not even Pacafferos; my kindest relative could fully understand my ways. He'd never even set foot off the planet until he graduated from the Academy, and that sort of travel in itself was rare among our kind. My own experiences abroad, backing up facts of the "oddity" I was, had led to several strange questions from my peers, but other than that, the content of "conversation" I received was hardly as positive.

So, I found myself very much alone for the most part. Which I hardly minded, I'd found out enough about the Galactrian way of life in my first term of "school" than I'd ever thought possible. To me, learning was still a phenomenon that still gave one a sense of unfathomable wonder when new discoveries were made. To the Galactrians, it was just a standard piece of what was already known, and what could be discovered, for the benefit of Galactria, and Galactria only.

While being at he Academy provide a whole new learning curve for me, I still missed Earth, and practically everything in it. All the different sights, sounds, smells, tastes, it had been shockwave on my senses being on the other planet. And it felt like home. Granted, it took some getting used to but, I had fully immersed myself into bringing out my human side. And as soon as I had gotten that opportunity, I had it taken away. There was no written law that said I couldn't be more human, but it simply "wasn't done". I was a freak, a social outcast, I wasn't like the rest. It was exactly how I'd felt when I'd first arrived on Earth, and I'd eventually gotten used to it. But after four years at the Galactrian Academy, I had never really gotten that full sense of acceptance. While I wasn't as self-conscious about my appearance as such, I was fully aware that just being there proved that I was still able to live up to general standards, just not the higher expectations of society, not even within my own tribe.

I began to lie back, when a stinging pain in my back stopped me. The effects of another one of yesterday's "extra lessons" still hadn't worn off on me. The scars would be less painful by tomorrow. Even so, I internally cursed my fellow seniors who had zealously taken it upon themselves to reinforce who was of the higher calibre in the "humble" Academy. And it certainly didn't appear to be me. At all. So, with not a large range of escape options at hand, I often snuck out of the Academy grounds (having worked out after my first term how to disengage the security system to my liking) to explore and find solitude. And it was often in my solitude, I wished even more that I was still on Earth, when solitude was not something I craved so frequently. I looked straight up at the sky, wincing slightly at the fresh scars that ran from my neck downwards. The stars were indeed spectacular tonight. Of all the things I had learned and discovered in my life, the night sky never ceased to amaze me; so many changes were going on right before my eyes, and while I couldn't see it all, the incredible works of the here and now just took my breath away. I glanced at the small clump of trees that surrounded, and decided I wouldn't take the risk of climbing tonight; there was greater chance of further injury that even my heightened abilities could not save me from. So, I rolled around onto my stomach, looking out over the deep blue-green hill at the landscape that was laid out before me, the black, starry sky illuminating the deep curtain over the land. As I picked out a few particular stars to observe, I noticed how brightly they shone, how it gave a sense of comfort. Those bright, shining starts of warmth, just like a familiar pair of eyes I remembered.

'I hope you're still there Pascha, cause I'm coming back…one day.'

**Ch12: A Fascinating Revelation**

_Starfleet, California, USA. Stardate: 2258_

_Chekov's POV:_

The ordeal with Nero was over finally over. Captain Pike had been promoted to Admiral, and Mr. Kirk was now Captain of the _Enterprise_. For now, we had leave, meaning we could do whatever we liked. My plans of researching and reading were suddenly cut short by Sulu and Mr. Scott forcing me to join them and the others for a celebratory night out.

'Come on kid, you can't say no to this! It's a fun night out with your friends, what else would you do first night back?' Hikaru insisted, as he half pulled me along with him. Even with my classification of a child prodigy, I could find no viable argument against my two fellow crewmen.

'Aye laddie, we're comrades we are.' Mr. Scott added, walking in stride with us. 'Besides, what on earth _were_ you planning to do tonight?'

I struggled to suppress a scowl. They wouldn't understand.

'Just…some research that's all.' I tried subtly. They exchanged glances; my friends were smarter than I thought. Clearly, I couldn't escape them.

'Research? You gotta be kidding me Chekov! What on earth would you want to be studying on leave?' It was hard to tell if he was genuinely surprised, or just being sarcastic.

'Just, stuff. Important stuff Hikaru, you wouldn't understand.' Sulu raised his eyebrows; I'd probably just made the mistake of making him more curious. But I continued with my strategy of being vague. Hopefully it would keep my friends prying any further.

'Oh, alright then, keep your secrets, we'll find out what "important stuff" you're up to lad.' Scotty concluded, as we met Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Spock and Lt. Uhura. It was strange to see them all out of uniform, particularly Spock, but he still managed to look the same as he was.  
.

After we'd finished dinner, Kirk made his way over to the bar, where a group of women were. I heard Dr. McCoy grumble something indistinguishable, as he had more to drink. I was the only one who couldn't drink, which I didn't mind; I didn't want to do something I'd probably regret later. So, I just continued to drink my soda, while listening to whatever the others were talking about.

'Hey Chekov!'

I looked up at Sulu, who looked very cheery. Three guesses as to why.

'So, what was this research you were planning on doing tonight? The so called "important stuff" you mentioned?'

I groaned inwardly, I really didn't want to have to talk about it.

'Well, come on boy, spit it out.' Scotty encouraged. 'Maybe we can help you with something.'

'No Mr. Scott, I don not think you can.'

'Too advanced for us mere mortals?'

'On the contrary Mr. Sulu, we are all living beings; so technically, there is nothing beyond us when it comes to-'

'It was a joke Spock, lighten up a little.' Sulu replied shaking his head in mock shame. Then he turned back to me.

'Come on kid; tell us what you're up to.'

I drew in a big breath, trying to find the right phrase (in Standard) that would make some sense.

'I'm trying to get more information on the Galactrian Academy of Technologies and Science.'

Scotty nearly choked on his drink; Sulu looked like he couldn't believe his ears, Spock and Uhura… I couldn't quite work out their faces. I could only imagine what sort of colour their hair would turn, were they Galactrian.

'You're doing what?' Hikaru spluttered. Spock looked at me curiously.

'For what purpose are you trying to gain information on such a remote planet Mr. Chekov?' he asked.

'I…I'm trying to contact a friend who is currently there.'

'A friend? On Galactria? Sorry, you lost me.' Uhura commented, shaking her head.

'I have a friend at the Academy, who I need to see, at least talk to if I can.'

'Who is this friend?' Spock asked

'She's more than a friend.' I said suddenly, without thinking.

'Whoa, whoa- _SHE?_' Sulu blurted out, Scotty adding on his shock.

'You have a girl you're not telling us about Chekov?'

'No! Not like that! We were best friends growing up, and I haven't seen her in years, and I just- I really need to see her again.' I tried not to let myself lose it. This wasn't something I'd tell most people. But recently I had come to the conclusion that my crew mates were more than just most people. At least, that's the kind of thing Tess would say.

'Okay, ease up kid, we didn't mean to get you hyped up.' I didn't realise what Sulu was referring to until I noticed I was gripping my glass almost too hard. I quickly let go.

'Sorry. It's just; I don't talk about it much.'

'Well Mr. Chekov, if there is any way we can help, I'd be fascinated to learn of the situation.' Spock said calmly. Uhura nodded in agreement.

'Go on Chekov, tell us about it; you can trust us. Tell us about this Tess.' She offered a comforting smile.

I ran a hand through my hair, not quite sure where to start.

'Well, her name is really Esther, but we nearly always called her Tess. I first met her when I was nine. I was with my father on a Starfleet trip on Earth. There had been an attack on a ship called the _Phineas_, and…'

'_The Phineas_? Wasn't that the ship that was destroyed by a mass Klingon fleet?' Sulu asked curiously. I nodded.

'Yes. Not many survived. But Tess was one of them, she was eight years old. Her mother was killed, and her father was taken hostage, believed dead.'

'Jesus.' Dr. McCoy whispered.

'After she was brought to Earth, my father offered to take her in for a while, because he knew her parents, and she doesn't really have any other family willing to take her in. So, Tess came back to Russia with us, and she lived with us ever since.'

'Wow, you must've gotten to know her pretty well.' said Sulu.

'We were best friends.'

'You mentioned she was at the Galactrian Academy, why is she there?' Spock interrupted politely.

'She's half Galactrian, so she still looks like one, and human at the same time.'

'Does she have metamorphic inhibitors?' Spock asked. No one seemed to know what the Vulcan was talking about.

'Yes. Her hair always changes colour according to her emotions. She can't help it, but she's used to it.'

'Fascinating.' Spock mused. I assumed he'd done research on the Galactrians before. I nodded.

'She's a genius too; she could think like me, I've never met anyone like her. We finished school at the same time, and we started thinking about applying for Starfleet.' I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts, as I remembered everything that Tess and I had done together, our final weeks.

'But a few weeks before she turned twelve, she got a notice that told her she was to go to the Galactrian Academy for five years, and she didn't have a choice about it. My father and Starfleet appealed for her to stay, but she…' I cursed my voice starting to crack, going up slightly. Talking about Tess was still one of the hardest things I could ever do, which was why I never talked about it. I felt the others were staring at me. I cleared my throat. 'She was taken away by two officials on her birthday. And what made it worse, was that she knew all along she didn't stand a chance against them. She always said she'd come back after the five years. That was over four years ago, I haven't seen her since.'

I opened my eyes, after closing them for only a few seconds, trying to shake away pictures of Tess' final day. My eyes felt watery, I didn't realise how lost I was in thinking about Tess. Sulu, Scotty, Spock, Uhura were all looking down as soon as I glanced up at them. They all seemed…sombre. McCoy shook his head.

'What kind of sick bastards take away a kid like that?'

'Galactrians are very loyal, and firm in their decisions. What they decide is almost always final.' Spock offered. I nodded.

'"A Galactrian never goes back on their word." That's what Tess said.' I added. And it was true; they'd taken her like they said, and Tess was still on Galactria, well, at least that's what I knew. It seemed she wasn't coming back just yet.

'So, they just took away your friend to this institution, and you're trying to get into contact with her?' Scotty concluded. I shrugged.

'Well, yes Mr. Scott. And I've been trying, but it's nearly impossible. I mean, after she left, I thought she'd still talk to me, but she hasn't. Four years and nothing! I don't understand it.'

'Maybe it's because of the distance of planets and difference of communication systems.' suggested Spock thoughtfully. 'There are a number of variables that could be contributing to the inability to contact Earth Mr. Chekov. But inquiries can be made with Starfleet's assistance if you'd prefer it.' I looked up at Spock. He was offering me help. After everything that had happened on the Enterprise, after his mother was killed, partially by my own error, he was giving me a chance to find Tess again.

'Really Mr. Spock? Could you really do that?' suddenly, I could have been as light as a feather. Just the thought of seeing Tess again made my heart feel a hundred times bigger.

'Certainly. It is possible. We'll see what Starfleet can do while we are still on leave.'

'Thank you sir! Thank you, thank you!' I was bubbling now (as Mama would call it). With Starfleet helping again, maybe I'd have better success than I ever did last time. I was going to see Tess again, I was going to bring her back, I didn't care how much longer it would take, despite how much I wanted to see her again, I was not going to sop until I could bring her back. Back to Earth.

Back to me.

…

'So kid, you and this girl, Tess, you were real close huh?' Sulu asked, his voice slurring slightly, but I knew he was trying to be serious. I shrugged as we made our way back to our dorm room.

'Yes, yes we were. My parents said we were almost inseparable. She was my best friend, ever since I met her. But she was so different, but she was sort of like me too. I don't think that makes sense.'

'No, no. you could relate to her. You really liked her.' He reasoned as we stopped outside our door. I typed in the code, and we walked in, both wincing as the lights flicked on suddenly.

'Liked her? I loved her, she was…I don't know, almost like a sister to me.' I sat down on my bed, and put my head in my hands, just because I was so tired. 'Of all the things that happened when she left Earth, I only regret one thing.'

'Yeah? What's that?' Sulu asked as he changed into his pyjamas. I sighed, as I admitted the one thing that had rolled over in my mind every day since Tess left.

'I never really told her…how, how much I loved her.'

Hikaru looked long and hard at me, as if trying to read some message on my face. I couldn't be sure.

'Did you really love her? As more than a sister I mean?'

'Honestly, I don't know. Apart from anyone else, I cared for her the most. And, if I ever saw her again, well, I don't know if she'd still love me back.'

Sulu sighed as he too sat on his bed opposite. He rubbed a hand across his tired face. 'You mentioned several times how she promised to come back, didn't you? Do you think she meant what she said?'

'Of course, I know her well enough to know that!'

'Then I'm sure she'll come back, and from you've said, I think she'll be just as excited to see you too.'

'You really think so Hikaru?'

'If she's anything like you, God forbid, then I think you have little reason to worry.' I thought this over.

'Okay.' I guessed he was right.

'Now stop thinking about everything at a hundred miles an hour in that head of yours, and go to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow.'

'Doing what?' I asked. Even in the dimming lights, I could swear I saw Sulu break out into a smile.

Relaxing and having fun. 'Night genius.'

I mumbled a weary reply, but before I knew it, I had changed into my pyjamas, and was lying flat on my bed, my last conscious thoughts of seeing Tess again.

**A/N: Okay; kinda sappy and lame-ish I know, but I'm tryin to get an idea of how Chekov was still thinking of Tess all that time, even when he was still on the **_**Enterprise**_**. No doubts Tess would have been having similar thoughts. I really should get to bed now. It's midnight, and I've gotta funeral to go attend, so yeah, big day.**

**BTW: If some of these weird Galactrian names have you baffled, this is how I see the pronunciation:**

Quam-Pluresastrum (galaxy) = Quam– Ploor-es- Astrum

Pacafferos (a cousin of Tess') = Pac- Afferos

**Hope that cleared up any confuddles among you. Let's just be thankful we ain't all trying to speak in Klingon- that'd be real weird. Next chapter is going ahead just a little bit more in time (think sequel era, yay!). When do you think Chekov and Tess will see each other again, if ever? All will be revealed. Keep the reviews n stuff cumin.**

**Peace out Earthlings.**

**G-4077 ;P**


	13. What's in a Name?

**Ch13: What's In A Name?**

**A/N: I've been waiting to write this chapter for AGES! Planned it all out in my head, how it would happen if it made the movie (JJ Abrams- watch this space, wherever you are…) Note: Starfleet is actually in California, dunno why I just put it there randomly. Probs cause I'm currently thinking about when I go there next year (Thanks to the N.H. PM!) It is in the city of San Francisco, so you know. Thanks for ALL the responses, you guys are cool. **

**Aaaand, back to Tess' POV.  
**

Starfleet Academy, USA, Earth. Stardate: 2259 (1 year after last chapter)

Sometimes I wondered what exactly I was doing here. Not a logical question, I know, but really, after six months, what I had set out to achieve since the age of twelve wasn't happening, hence the occasional red hair in annoyance. From day one of life back on Earth, it could have very well been Galactria all over again. Minus the obvious difference of habitants, but my hair's colour scheme was displaying similar to what I'd felt so many times before. But I'd done my best to cover that up, with permission from my commanders. Hats, beanies, scarves, whatever tactics I'd used on Earth before, I was repeating now. Not that any of this helped my first impressions on the rest of the Starfleet population, but as I learned a long time ago; you can't have everything on life.

I'd finished more of my classes for the day, and, not being hungry as usual, skipped the cafeteria altogether, and headed outside to one of my favourite places; the trees. Thankfully, Starfleet had many beautiful gardens which I could lose myself in (Oh, how proud Alina would have been at the sight of it) and they helped me relax from the new stresses of Earth life at Starfleet. The sky was bright today, white clouds harmlessly floating overhead. Despite everyone else casually wearing their regulation red uniforms, I kept as covered as possible, my favourite dark shawl draped over my head; I wasn't going to go through all _that_ again. As the years passed and I grew more, it only seemed to fit over my head and shoulders. Not that I minded, anything to stop the onslaught of insults and whispers. I held my newly advanced PADD close to me, currently intent on finding some time alone, away from the current busy crowd, where it was quieter, so I could read my book in peace under a tree.

.

'Hey freak!'

Maybe not. I kept walking, despite my hair suddenly changing from its apathetic indigo to a dull red in annoyance, not that they could see it of course. Ignorance should do the trick.

'Hey freak! I'm talking to you!'

Well, it wasn't as if I could pretend I couldn't hear them. I have senses ten times better than normal humans; I could hear those repetitive taunts from miles away. I kept walking.

'Yo, Rainbow-Head! You gone deaf or something?' another voice shouted.

Oh yeah, thanks; pick on my most noticeable feature, which I had gone to so much effort to hide. Great, now everyone will know who I am. If my cheeks could flush, I would be pink by now. But I couldn't; I was still pale, my faint olive tone adding to my somewhat ill-fated look, and the markings that covered me didn't add to the normality factor either. To my dislike, I felt eyes on me, and the annoyances following behind. I could have very easily have run away, faster than they could imagine, but that would make me look like a coward. Which I wasn't; not after everything I'd been through. I wasn't sure whether my hair was burning a brighter red, or dark green. Thank goodness no one could see it though; I felt a faint buzzing within me as I sensed that things were not going to result calmly. And people say walking away from the situation is the sensible option. Whoever those people were, I'd have a few things to say to them. I felt the group of my peers getting closer to me; obviously they were power-walking to keep up with my long strides.

'Listen you psycho kid, no one ignores me when I'm talking!'

I slowed down. My hair began to scream dark green in contempt of that self-righteous excuse of a man who just spoke to me. I turned around to face the speaker; Jason Hewitt-Smith. The man who from day one, had made it his ambition to boost his already inflamed ego by pointing out to everyone I didn't belong here; just what I needed after suffering four years of torture from people like him on Galactria. And to my utter delight, he was surrounded by two of his cronies, and three girls whom I had refrained from strangling so far. And they were all smirking widely at me. What for, I wasn't sure, but I was probably about to find out.

'Oh, I'm sorry Smith, were you talking to me? All I could hear was indistinguishable grunting; my mistake.' I calmly replied, my misxed European accent adding to my effort to keep up my indifferent façade. Jason and his group glared at me harder.

'Oh, look; the Martian made a joke. Which wasn't funny. I think you need to learn how we do things around here _Moretti_.' He spat out my last name with emphasis, which was his way of saying: _You're not like us, you don't deserve a last name, or any name at all. Just the ones we call you._ Charming much?

'No thank you Smith, I am perfectly capable of living here. I also do not appreciate your offensive comments.' I said smoothly, turning on my heel, only to find more of Smith's friends blocking my path, all positioned in a semi-circle.

'You're not going anywhere freak, not until we've taught you a lesson'

'I don't need anything from you.'

'Then let me learn more about you.' From the sly suggestiveness in his voice, I could tell he just wanted his way. I huffed.

'After all you've done to me, what could you possibly want to learn from me now?' I asked dryly. I felt him coming up closer behind me, so I pushed past the group in front of me, trying to be intimidating. They closed in and pushed me back. Suddenly, I felt a breeze on the back of my neck, as the shawl I was using to cover my head and neck was suddenly ripped from me, my hair immediately shifting through several colours.

'Hey! Give that back Smith!' I demanded firmly. Oh no, he wasn't going to do anything to my shawl. Not that shawl. He held it up, examining it amused.

'Why? Is it _precious_ to you Moretti?' he mocked.

'I need that shawl Smith, please give it back to me!'

'Oh, she says _please _now does she? Trying to appeal to my better nature now are we? How are your brains going to solve this one, huh?

My hair went through a brief cycle of changing colours, to suit all the emotions I was currently trying to supress. Smith and his pals burst out in fits of laughter.

'Ha! Look at that, will you? Our psycho-delic alien freak-show is beginning to show her true colours!'

'Stop it Smith! Give that back!' I half-yelled, as I moved to grab for my shawl. He just stepped back and held it higher. I felt a warm sensation behind my eyes, coursing through my body in anger. My hair suddenly went bright gleaming red. This just sent Smith further into hysterics. We were attracting a crowd now, many had come to watch the drama unfold, heightening my discomfort. Smith raised his eyebrows.

'Hey now, getting fiery are we Moretti? Bit of an attitude problem in your young age? Ha! You should see yourself now; you look like some weirdo fire truck!'

'Shut. Up.' was all I could manage. 'Or I swear, you will pay.' This seemed to make Smith push further.

'What are you gonna do? Stare me to death? You couldn't look any normal person without them knowing you're nothing, you alien retard!'

I stopped. He did not just call me that. I made direct eye contact with him, and only him. I was not going to give in that easy if someone ever called me that. No, I had suffered too much abuse at the hands of other, and I was not going to take it anymore. I hardly noticed that I was beginning to shake with frustration, my hair burning the fiery red glow it did when I was indescribably mad, and my skin glowing white with the adrenaline rush. From some of the people's reactions, I figured thin dark green streaks were beginning to appear in my hair as well, displaying the pure hatred I felt for this man, everything about him. And while his friends started to look anxious, Jason just laughed.

'What did you call me?' the anger flowing through my gritted teeth, my hands balling up into fists, then retracting into curled fingers.

'I called you what you are. Oho, we are getting steamy now aren't we Moretti? What ya gonna do you little creep? Go back to your planet and tell your people? It's not like you have a family to back you up. They were all dead before you knew what Earth even was you little slu-'

.

If my furious growl hadn't warned him, Smith would've died of fright. Because the next thing anyone saw was a blur as I leapt at him in one swift motion, my bright rainbow hair flying wildly, as his friends scattered onto the grass, the shawl dropped in an instant. Smith gasped at the sudden impact my firm body produced as I collided with him, knocking the wind out of him. He tried to retaliate by kicking me, and rolling me over, but the attempt was futile. I fought back, and held him down easily, my back still arched in anticipation. His surprise at my strength was evident enough on his face; he was terrified, and I was glad for it. He needed to know what real fear was; having your life held in the balance by someone as insignificant as me. I let out another quiet, threatening growl as the crowd around us cried, and gasped in exclamation of my sudden outburst. The shock of a slender seventeen year old girl of 5 ft 6, holding down a well-muscled, 6 ft 2 twenty-three year old man was certainly something you didn't see everyday.

'Don't- you- DARE- talk about- my family- that- way!' I spat, the venom in my voice all to clear, my eyes blazing bright. 'What gives you the right to say such things? I should've stopped you months ago.' I growled, shaking my head.

'P-pl-please! Please don't kill me!' Jason whimpered pathetically, as my hand pressed his throat lightly, the rest of my body still keeping him in a tight grip. I turned my head to look at him better.

'Why should I? You're nothing to me, just as I am _nothing_ to you. Give me a reason, and I swear I…'

'Please! I-I'm sorry! I never, I di-'

'Didn't mean it? Don't lie to me Smith, you meant every word, you and I both know it.' I hissed back, slowing the pace of my sentences, continuing to drive the terror into him. Suddenly, a small glint appeared in his eyes.

'You can't kill me.' he choked, somewhat braver.

'And why not?' I asked, pushing my hand down on his throat just a little more.' I went to make him choke out an answer, but loosened up a little to hear him speak.

'Everyone's w-watching. They can all... see you- witnesses. Besides… you wouldn't have the guts to do it.'

My eyes widened ever so slightly; he noticed, and tried unsuccessfully to struggle against me. 'Wouldn't I Smith?' I replied, tightening my grip on his airways again. 'Wouldn't I?' he could hardly rasp out an answer now, I had physically exhausted him from my hold, despite the fact I could hear his heart beating like a racing drum. He shook his head a tiny bit. I got closer to him, my threatening hiss more malicious every second.

'Look into my eyes Jason, look hard. And you tell me- do these look like the eyes of someone who's killed before? Look hard now Jason, and tell me.'

I glared down at Smith, and he stared up at me. Into my eyes which no longer contained flecks of cheerful colour, but were now colder, luminous and hard. The warm greens, and blues, browns and yellows were now gone. And as Jason Hewitt-Smith looked up at my two metallic, pure silver eyes, he knew, he finally saw it. His brown eyes widened in fear, mine narrowed in acknowledgment. And that was all I needed to see. My decision was not what he expected, and I knew that would probably terrify him…and his friends even more.

.

Slowly, I loosened my grip on his throat, his limbs, then the rest of his body. I continued to glare daggers at him as I rose from my position slowly. I stepped away from him as he coughed and spluttered, one or two people rushing to him, to check how alive he was. Then a few more gathered round, soon forming a small rabble. I turned to pick up my PADD, and my shawl, loosely wrapping it around my head. But even when covered, the people who saw me knew I was still fuming, my hair still a fierce red, angrily twirled in small waves like a ferocious fire; the curled green ends served as warning of my complete and utter hatred of the way I was being treated. I had had enough, Smith and so many others had crossed the line, pushed me over the edge, and this time, I had nearly gone too far. A tiny surge of guilt swept through me, sending my hair temporarily sicly green and maroon. But as it went back to it's gleaming bright red, part of my hair did not change at all. Two large streaks that were strewn across my head remained so, and it was those two streaks that symbolised only part of the damage that had been done to me; the part of me that was dead, taken violently away, then left dead. A part of me that had lost all colour and wonder, a slice of my humanity taken with it.

As I went to move, the various clumps of onlookers gazed at me, some avoiding eye contact altogether, afraid I might burn them if my gaze fell on them, and they backed away from me to pass through easily. _Even better impressions Tess, well done._ I thought to myself. At least I won't have anyone else bothering me now; like I cared. I was here for one person and one person only, as I hoped he was still waiting for me. Nothing I could do now though. While the cadets murmered among themselves, whispering, hissing several things at once I didn't bother trying to distinguish. But I could've sworn for a moment I heard one person whisper my name; not Moretti, not Esther, but just plain "Tess". For a split second, I allowed my hair to flash I ignored the parting crowd, uncaring of whatever other reactions came my way, and stalked all the way back to my room; my eyes narrowed, my fists clenched, and my heart still broken.

_**Chekov's POV:**_

'Beautiful day! What tomfoolery shall we get up to today laddies?' Scotty asked brightly, as we walked down the steps of the central Academy Building. Dr. McCoy and Lt. Uhura rolled their eyes, Sulu rubbed his hands together in anticipation, and Mr. Spock remained blank. I shrugged, continuing to look up at the sky. The striking blue was exactly the same colour as Tess' hair used to go when she was in amazement and awe. the way her whole face lit up with her beautiful hair. One year since telling my crew members about Tess, and she was still nowhere to be seen. Mr. Spock ahd been most helpful in assissting with my research, he already seemed to know plenty about the planet. Sulu and Mr. Scott had tried to get me to open up more, in an effort to be good friends. So, I ended up telling them some of the many things Tess and I did together when we were young. All of it they seemed to react to, in varying ways. But Sulu had taken me aside one and told me confidentially he was happy that I had had someone like Tess, that he and the others understood how much she meant to me, and that they'd all try to help any way they could to find her. I could have cried, they only made me more determined to find Tess. And I was still looking. I had hardly had time to do any more investigating since we'd come back from our last short mission three days ago. Captain Kirk had a familiar glint in his blue eyes.

'I don't know Scotty, but if there are any decent chicks or macho men around, I'll be sure to think of something.'

'Jesus Jim, you're not even drunk and you're still gonna reap havic on shoreleave!' McCoy exclaimed annoyed. The others responded good-humourdly. There was a small crowd of people all walking towards one place on the grass near the trees on the waterfront. From teh sound of the raised voices, something seemed to be happening. I craned my neck to see what was going on.

_"...please give it back to me!" _a female voice cried furiously. Her voice was young, something about it was familiar. As I got a little closer, I saw a tall man surrounded by a large group. They were cadets, all older than me of course. The one in the middle seemed to be holding something up. It was a piece of material. It was dark and...shimmery. Wait...I'd seen that before...

The man laughed louder after saying something further. _"Ha! Look at that, will you? Our psycho-delic alien freak is starting to show her true colours!"_

There was a pause, while the others laughed. I still couldn't see properly, but he had the piece of material, and if he said the female was _alien_...

_"Stop it Smith! Give it back!" _She lunged for the piece of material, but the man- Smith held it even higher. He seemed to be enjoying this. I moved closer still.

"_Hey now, getting firey are we Moretti?" _I stopped in my tracks. No, no way, it couldn't be...there was no way... "_Bit of an attitude problem in your young age? Ha! You should see yourself now; you look like some weirdo fire-truck!" _Fire-truck? Red. _Was_ it her? I tried to get past a few more people.

'Chekov! What are you doing?' Sulu hissed. I ignored him, and kept pushing forward. I felt Sulu and Scotty move behind me, the others probably following. I had to know if it was her. If there was any hope in the world...

I broke through the crowd, and saw the tall man, waving a long piece of cloth above his head. It was blue; the darkest midnight blue imaginable- almost black. And all over it was silver lining, in the faint pattern of roses. No; it couldn't be; there coudln't possibly be anyone else in the galaxy who owned that piece of cloth. And then I saw the victim of the assault. She was tall, but hardly as tall as the man, she almost looked a girl in comparison. And she was looking up in sheer anger. My eyes widened as I looked her over. Her long, red Starfleet uniform covered most of her body. Her skin was impossibly pale, light brown tattoos patterned over it. Her eyes were blazing, but easily the most noticable, no...recognisable thing about her was the unmissable pure firey red hair. I felt my throat grow tight in astonishment as Esther Moretti hissed at the man.

_"Shut. Up. Or I swear, you will pay."_ Her voice was low, threatening. This was wrong, there must have been some mistake, that didn't sound like Tess. All trace of laughter, happiness, the comforting tone that once belonged to the Tess I knew was gone. This was someone else. But it still looked like Tess, why...?

_"What are you gonna do? Stare me to death? You couldn't look at any normal person without them knowing you're nothing, you alien retard!"_

This caught her completely off guard. Everyone gasped, myself included. I hardly even realised. Tess' eyes rounded in shock horror. Her patterned hands balled up into tight fists, then into curled claw-like fingers, as if ready for attack.

_"What did you call me?" _she challenged, her teeth ground together. She was beginning to shake. Her eyes were glowing too.

_"I called you what you are. Oho, we are getting steamy now aren't we? What you gonna do ya little creep? Go back to your planet and tell your people? It's not like you have a family to back you up. They were dead before you knew what Earth even was you little slu-"_

In less than a second, there was a loud, raging animal-like growl, a whirl of colour, and Smith was knocked to the ground, being held down by Tess. She was hunched, hardly breathing, her face freakishly illuminated. The man under her- Smith, he looked petrified; his friends had backed away in terror, the material lay abandoned on the grass. No one, not even I had expected this- not from Tess, that wasn't her. The girl who was aggressively pressing her hand down on Smith's throat was completely opposite of the fun, free-spirited girl I remembered spending the happiest days of my life with; what had changed her? _Who_ had changed her? Whoever they were, they'd taken the real Tess away. My first instinct was to move forward, to yell out for Tess, my Tess, but I felt two strong hands pull me back. Sulu and Scotty didn't let go. But they didn't understand, I had to stop Tess, to tell her I was here. Everyone's attention was centred on her, and the slowly choking Smith.

.

_"Don't- you- DARE- talk about- my family- like- that!"_ she said, her tone deadly.

_"P-pl-please! Please don't kill me!"_

'Why should I? You're nothing to me, just as I am _nothing_ to you. Give me a reason, and I swear I…'

'Please! I-I'm sorry! I never, I di-'

I couldn't help but shake my head. This wasn't Tess, not my Tess. Not the girl who had once feared leaving her whole turned Tess this way. How, I did not know. They way she spoke, was cruel, it was like...she wanted to see him suffer. She'd never been that way before. Why...why she'd become like this, was beyond me. I, with everyone else, watched on in horror as Tess was slowly leaning in, my thoughts immediately assuming the worst; to kill Smith. But wouldn't do that...not Tess. She couldn't...could she?

More hushed words were exchanged between the two, and then, there was a silence. All they did was stare at each other, as if trying to work something out. I heard the occasional whisper pass, but other than that- silence reigned over the park. Beside me, I could feel Sulu and Scotty tense up in waiting to see if Tess would strike.

To my surprise, she moved- painfully slowly, and released her hold on Smith's throat, then his limbs, finally planting herself back on the ground. There was a quiet, but unmissable collective sigh of relief. Tess snatched up the material, and her PADD, then moved away from Smith and his group of friends, who had now come to help him. Not a word was exchanged, but the glares spoke volumes. But as she began to walk away, something about her hair changed my focus. It was still a furious red, the curly ends still deep green, but there were two long hanging streaks that were different- shockingly different. Even after all these years, I still remembered every colour that matched with emotions that Tess shown so far. And the ones she hadn't. Those two streaks weren't normal, not for Tess anyway. The only neutral shade she'd ever had was brown. But the streaks- the streaks were silver- the silver of a Galactrian. And they didn't change. It was almost like...like she slowly become one of them. Oh God, how in the world could I face her if she had changed this much? I just couldn't understand it.

Tess wrapped the material around her head. I stared in disbelief; she still used it! As a shawl of all things! She had kept it all these years, I can't believe she'd actually remembered! She wasn't completely changed, she couldn't be, there was still part of her hiding, like the way she used her shawl, my shawl. But my hope was cut short as she stormed through the hushed crowd, and I saw her eyes. Even as she got closer, I just knew they had changed too. They weren't grey, or bright and colourful. No, they appeared to be silver. Just silver. Like her hair. Like a Galactrian. This wasn't right. Her eyes, those eyes which I thought were one of the most beautiful things in the world, were now cold and unfeeling. They glowed, but not like they used to. I remember Captain Kirk once use the phrase "If looks could kill". It seemed as she moved easily through the parting crowd, some wer eafraid that might be the case. As she approached the area where my friends and I were, along with others, who all moved  
away, I looked at her, long and hard. There had to be some trace left of my special girl.

.

"Tess..." I had not spoken her name until now. It was the quietest thing in the world, but she slowed. Only for a moment, but her fast pace was interrupted, just for that one second. And her hair; it changed too. It was...thoughtful, confused, and then...angry again. My shoulders slumped assoon as they had lifted in anticipation. And she kept walking. But she'd heard me; I knew she'd heard me. She had the best hearing of anyone I knew, even maybe Mr. Spock. Maybe she wanted to know I was there. But if she did, why did she walk away? Didn't she promise to find me again? Didn't she confess she never wanted to leave me on Earth? Why was she being like this? She kept walking, and there was still silence. Everyone's eyes followed her tall, retreating figure, no one followed her. And then she was gone. Immediately, the whispers became words, then louder; cries, and questions, and shouts. I kept looking at where Tess had gone. I wished with all my heart that this had just been some...joke, some figment of my imagination, and that she'd come out again, smiling and happy, her hair all one vibrant colour, her eyes back to their warm, loving, happy. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped. I had no idea, any of my crew had been trying to get my attention.

'Chekov!' I looked up into the dark, worried eyes of Sulu. I picked up overlapping conversations in the brief silence. 'Are you alright? You look...'

'What's the matter? What is it laddie?' Scotty asked, his eyes bright.

'Kid, kid listen to me! I don't think he's in shock Jim, he's alright.' Dr. McCoy said, confirming the worries of the Captain and Lt. Uhura

'Pavel, look at me; what's wrong?'

I couldn't find words, not the right ones, not any. I looked back at Sulu.

'Tha...that was- h-her.' was all I could muster. I don't even know if they'd heard me; they all looked at each other in confusion.

'Who Pavel? Who are you talking about?'

I gulped, my heart felt like it was in my throat an dmy stomach at the same time.

'Her. The girl. It was her. I- can't believe...she...'

'Who?'

I looked back blankly at the spot where I'd last seen her.

'Tess. That- that was Tess.' 

'WHAT?'

**A/N: Ooh, what have I created? Are you shocked Sarah? And everyone else? Were you expecting this sorta twist? Bet not. I'm gonn aleave it here for now. Apologies to everyone cause I haven't been posting lately. This is all I got this week, I'm not meant to be on actually...**

**Sorry to Crim Minds fans, give it another few days, real sorry. More up by next week! PLEASE keep up the reviews! I need thoughts con/crit and encouragement from people other than the people I see every day.**

**Peace out earthlings!**

**G-4077 :P**


	14. How to Explain

**Ch14: Finding the Right Words**

**A/N: Sorry I took so long. Life's taken a real turn currently, the most fanfiction use I've really done lately is answering the emails that come through! Please enjoy, the big wait will be over soon! G-4077 :)**

* * *

**Chekov's POV:**

'You have to talk to her Chekov.'

'I can't.' I groaned, lying back on my bed. I didn't want to start this conversation again; it would only end badly…for me. Sulu sighed, persisting anyway.

'Why the hell not?'

'Because, because…' _"Because I'm too much of a coward to talk to the girl who I've waited five years for, who nearly tried to kill someone yesterday."_ I thought. I couldn't do this. I shut my eyes tight, trying to block everything. Instead, all I saw was Tess…and everything that had happened yesterday.

'See? C'mon kid, what's stopping you? You've been rattled on finding her for, what? Five years? Why are like this all of a sudden?'

'It's just…complicated, that's all.' What else could I say? He wouldn't get it.

'What is? Pavel, you gotta tell me. Look everyone's worried about you. We said we'd try and help, and if we don't know anything, there's nothing we can do for you. Please.' I could see his reasoning, but they wouldn't understand- no one would. I just couldn't bring myself to tell everything now; I hadn't spoken a word of it for years. But all the questions, trying to add every detail up, didn't make complete sense. I had to figure it out. Maybe I should say something.

'It's Tess. When I saw her the other day, she…she wasn't what I expected. At all. I wasn't even sure it was her.'

'What do you mean?'

I sat up, looking at Sulu on his bed. 'Did you see what she did? She could have killed that man!'

'Yeah, I saw. It was strange, of course, but I don't get why it's got you freaked out.'

'But this is Tess we're talking about! She'd _never_ do something like that! Ever! I've never seen her like that before! It's not right.'

'Did she ever get angry as a child?' Sulu asked plainly. I shook my head.

'No! Nearly never! She was fine. She wouldn't lose control and get violent; she knew how to keep control of herself…she wouldn't hurt anyone. She was like my Mama that way, always very gentle.' I said, remembering how much of my mother's daughter Tess could have been. 'I can't remember her giving a threat to anyone seriously before, and now she nearly just killed a man! That's not like her Hikaru! That's not Tess! '

.

My friend thoughtfully stayed silent for a few seconds. He took a deep breath, and then looked at me again. His expression behind his dark eyes was hard to read.

'Chekov, you keep saying was and had. You're speaking from when you two were kids. How old was she when she left?'

'Twelve. Twelve exactly' I answered immediately.

'And how old would she be now?' he continued.

'Seventeen.'

'Pavel, you should know as well as anyone how much can change from those ages. Anything could have happened while she was on her other planet; we don't know. But it's probably changed her a lot. From the way she was yesterday, and from what you've already said about her, it sounds like something's made her change her ways.'

'What could have made her attack person like that?'

'I don't know, and neither do you. Did she ever want to go to that Academy in the first place?'

'No. it was the last place she wanted to go. But she didn't have a choice.'

'Well, that's one thing that's probably made angry over the years. Do you know if she ever had friends on Galactria?'

I tried to recall Tess ever mentioning good friends on Galactria, I thought of none. 'I don't know.' Sulu continued questioning.

'Was she ever teased?'

'Yes, but she tried to ignore it.' Sulu looked hard at the wall in contemplation.

'Now, I don't know an awful lot about Galactrians, but from I what I do know, their pretty intimidating creatures compared to us. My guess is they would've given your friend a pretty hard time when she was there.'

.

I thought back to when Tess had confessed her fears to me. Because she was a half-blood, she wouldn't be treated the same, she'd be subjected to all sorts of abuse. Maybe now, she'd had enough. But she never gave up that easily. Then I remembered when she left; she knew she was going. For someone so… strong, who always fought for what she believed, she had subjected herself to the Galactrians, to five years of something she knew she didn't want. Why was she being like this then? After the horrible things that Cadet had said to her, taken her shawl (the one _I _gave her!), and laughed at her, of course she would've been angry. But when she leapt at him, held him down, suddenly in power- I'd never felt so scared- for her, and the cadet. And…well, I didn't really know why, but I was almost…angry too.

Tess had never had many issues with discipline when she was with us, but going to such a measure to put down that man, was scary. It was just like our first mission on the Enterprise, and Commander Spock showed his emotions, nearly choking Captain Kirk. It was strange, and we were all scared. That is what I felt now, at Tess. How could she have let herself become so…reckless? Not thinking straight? Or maybe she was, and she had really wanted to hurt him. But it didn't add up- it wasn't logical! Whatever had happened to Tess at the Academy had made her different; she didn't look like the harmless little girl I knew from before. This was too confusing. I made an effort to try and explain to Sulu my strange thoughts. He listened patiently, occasionally reminding to me to speak slower Standard. My thoughts were calculating more in Russian, than switching to Standard all the time, like I had to with speech. After I gave my little theory, and I asked Sulu what he thought, he was quite blunt.

'I can agree with you on that kid, something must have happened while she was away, and I don't think it's turned out for the better so far. But she's here now isn't she? She kept he promise by coming back to Earth and enlisting in Starfleet. She probably knew you'd do the same, so there was always a chance she'd bump into you somewhere along the line. But the only way you can find out, is to do what I've been telling you to do for the last six hours!'

I knew where he was going with this. It was like a giant circle. I had to talk to her.

'But how do I talk to her? What am I going to say? She probably won't even recognise me Hikaru, it's been five years!'

'Can you think of any other reason she'd come here of all places?' he reminded. I reluctantly shook my head. Sulu grinned cheekily, and clapped his hands.

'Aha! There you go then!' he held his arms out triumphantly. 'She'll remember you easy. You just need to find her alone somewhere, and start talking.'

'But what do I say?'

'I don't know. Hello would be nice; in any language she understands preferably. You can re-introduce yourself maybe; ask if she remembers you, which is just for reassurance. I wouldn't have a clue about how she'd react, but I reckon once you go from there, it'll be too easy.' offered Sulu helpfully. He made it sound so easy though, he was always better with talking to girls. I looked up from the carpet I'd been staring at constantly, and again at my friend. I let out the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.

'Okay. Okay, I'll try. Try to find her alone, introduce myself. What could go wrong?' I revised plainly. 'But what if she walks way, or…I don't know, doesn't want to talk to me?' Sulu shook his head despairingly, even if he was smiling.

'She won't kid. Trust me. It's just a matter of finding the right words.' He got up, grabbed his PADD, and small open box of stuff.

'How can I do that?'

'It'll come to you. You wanna be with this girl again; just be yourself. She loved you for it before, no reason it can't work this time.' he patted my back, trying to be encouraging. 'Listen, I gotta get some of this stuff to the guys from engineering and supplies. Important stuff you know.' He winked cheerily, gave me one last smile, before heading out the sliding door, looking very satisfied with himself. I was lost with what to with myself, so I made myself some coffee; needing the extra hit to think, read a few more papers. But I stopped after only twenty minutes, unable to concentrate. I put my mug down and leaned back on the couch- and I thought about how I was going approach Tess. Sulu had suggested getting her alone somewhere. But where on earth would Tess go alone? The library? The classrooms? The grounds? It was open, and Tess had loved everything earthy and outdoors, thanks to Mama. The grounds… that gave me an idea. There was plenty of grass around, a good view of the bridge and the water. And there were plenty of locations to get a good view, places to think. The trees maybe…

* * *

**Tess' POV:**

I could only look down at the floor. The khaki shade of my hair was almost sickening when put with the overwhelming worry that coursed through me; that and guilt. I looked up through the strands of hair hanging in front of my face in mild self-disgust; green with the two large silver streaks standing out considerably; even I was ashamed of it now for so many reasons. After sitting outside my Commander's office for only ten minutes, I was now at the conclusion that I would be a dead woman once I had been dealt with. Sure, I had been terrified of the Galactrians who had beaten me senseless at the Academy; they were older, stronger, and fiercer. But somehow, I was still afraid of certain Starfleet officials. I had the awful feeling I knew who'd be dealing with, and what would be said. Yes, I know what I'd done, yes; I know how serious it was. Heck, I could be kicked out of Starfleet for this. I'd only been here nine months. I'd achieved plenty since then; I'd become a cadet, to become an ensign after one year, due to my "exemplary" training results from the Galactrian Academy, which was seen as unusual and impressive by the commanding staff at Starfleet. But my hopes of promotion were looking very far away now.

Like I cared, they could take the stupid promotion. I was here, easily acing my classes, and still on my search for Pavel. I had promised, and I knew he would have gone to Starfleet without me anyway. And by a stroke of luck through some legally questionable "research" I had done, I found out he had been sent to the Californian Headquarters, chosen for the Enterprise, and was working as an ensign as the navigator for the infamous Starship. Had he come a long way or what? And he'd done it all without me. He must have been stronger than I thought (he'd done me proud and not even known it). I desperately hoped he still missed me as much I missed him. But he was always bound to go far, being the brilliant, bubbly genius he was. My hair glowed an even stronger greyish-green in my hate of how I'd left him and his parents five painstakingly long years ago. I wondered whether they'd ever forgive me for it, a brief glint of dark blue came over me in my sadness of the memory. But for now, I'd be needing another sort of forgiveness. Rather desperately if all was not in my favor- a likely outcome. The door opposite me opened, and my Lt. Commander, Donovan stood stiffly, eyeing me with an unusual displeasure. Usually, as one if his stidents, I was on his good side, he seemed to have developed some interest in me due to my heritage, and asked me several questions regarding. My intellect and performance had made him proud, but now, I could tell was not one of those times. If anything he looked hte complete opposite of proud. It was like having my father look down on me sternly when I was a small child. Even more depressing- cue the blue.

'Come in Moretti.' he ordered briskly. I stood, and entered, Donovan shutting the door behind me. Before me were three Commanders, two human including Donovan, and one was Vulcan. I didn't need an estimated guess to know who he was, there was no mistaking that solemn, indifferent facade. The fourth member of the council was Admiral Burton, the High Commander of Starfleet branch himself. Oh yes, I was a dead woman for sure.

'Sit down please.' Donovan said in the same tone. I did so, the hard chair making me face all my superiors directly, the Vulcan stood next to them however. And they were all staring at me, glaring more like. In the corner, sat a scribe, also giving me a perculiar look. This was going to be fun...

.

'Cadet Esther E. Moretti, we have decided not to hold a public trial for you, due to a change in circumstances, but this hearning holds the same rules as would any other court marshal, do you understand?' The High Commander asked me. Very briefly, my hair went bright pink in surprise, then going peach to shine a vague sort of orange due to my wry thoughts. So I was being trialled, Smith had laid charges. Lovely, something else against my name, someone else who wanted my guts- that was all I needed. I nodded in acknowledgement. Burton continued with the formal part of introduction so to speak, and then he addressed the "charges". I listened carefully.

'You have been accused of aggravated assault and potential attempted murder of a fellow cadet. These are very serious charges, do you deny them?'

I paused beofer answering, considering my "plea", my hair still orange with curiosity. I hadn't really meant to try and kill Smith, only to make him think so; he did acknowledge my power after my little mind game. And it had worked. But I had let him go after, I didn't intend to kill him no matter what answer he would have given. I had made a terrible mistake back on Galactria, I wasn't going to repeat it again on Earth. If was off-record, sure, but I still felt the moment. And that was something I was going to live with for the rest of my time.

'I deny trying to kill Jason Hewitt-Smith sir. That was not my intention.'

'But you caused bodily harm intentionally?'

'Not to the extent of which he claims sir. He should have known better to atta-'

'This is not a matter of Smith's actions Cadet, it is your's. Smith will be dealt with once we get to the bottom of this situation.' The Commander's voice was hard, stern, authoritive. I remained quiet. A petite female Commander, Lee, addressed me.

'Now Cadet Moretti, would you care to explain why you attacked Mr. Hewitt-Smith?'

'I was deeply provoked.' I replied simply.

'You were provoked? How so?' she asked quizically. I allowed my hair to flash red in annoyance for a second, before regaining control, and trying to remain as neutral as possible.

'Pardon me for pointing it our Commander, but you seem surprised. Were there no witnesses who heard what Smith called me?' I responded icily. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn the Vulcan raised a dark eyebrow. I could sense him studying me, I felt his mind working rapidly, even faster than Pavel's, and his aura was always something to go by. The other Commanders exchanged glances, silently agreeing to push me further.

'Yes of course there were witness Moretti; half the Academy saw what occured.'

I refrained from bursting out: "Well, in that case. maybe you should be reprimanding Smith for what he said and get off my case for a bit." But that would have been rude. I held back my contempt, feeling the Vulcan's eyes still on me. Of course he would be monitoring my level of self-control.

'He regards me as nothing. That I don't deserve to be here because of my heritage.'

'But you are still human.' Burton pointed out. I shook my head.

'Not human enough according to them. It is not just Smith I admit, who has riddled me with such accusations, but isn't the main point of Starfleet, other than discovery, to strengthen inter-galactic relations?' I challenged, my hair getting redder. The Commaders nodded.

'It is indeed.'

'Then why do I and others who are not fully human still face persecution? It all seems very... hypocritical to me.'

I waited for my superiors to reply. I smirked, a flicker of violet conveyed my pride in making them stop. Something about the (human) Commander's expressions gave me the assumption my frequently changing hair colour was creeping them out a little. Typical, even they were afraid of me. Donovan tugged at his collar, finally giving an attempted answer.

Well, yes, attitudes like that don't get people very far, and we do our best to discourage such behaviour. But the point still stands Moretti; you retaliated severely against Smith, and with that brings severe consequences...'

'If you're referring to my upcoming promotion sir, I don't care if you take it from me. I shouldn't have to stand for such discrimination. Being of two worlds is not my fault, nor should it render me lesser.'

I could have sworn I saw the Vulcan's face glow a little, of recognition, or pride, anything else- I was not sure. But I had heard what people had said about Commander Spock- that his father was the Vulcan Ambassador, and his mother had been human. Since the destruction of Vulcan, Earth was his only stable home other than the Starship. Yet he said nothing, strange. Or not, he decided to take me by surprise by opening his mouth before the others.

'The Cadet makes a valid point Commanders.' we all turned to look at him. 'Such harsh discrimination has continued since Moretti's inclusion into Starfleet. And such measures can lead to drastic consequences. Though I believe Cadet Moretti's attitude has not just stemmed from her time on Earth.' I stiffened, my hair appraching a feared shade.

'How do you mean Spock?' Burton asked. Spock turned back to me.

'Cadet, am I correct in the fact that for the last five years, you have been studying at the Galactrian Academy for Science and Technologies?'

'Yes Sir.' I replied through gritted teeth, a noticable reaction.

'Your response indicates a lack of enthusiasm over the matter.'

'Since I was there against my will, you stand corrected, Sir.'

'Commander, what has this to do with anything? Will you enlighten us with your point?' Burton inquired impatiently. Spock nodded.

'Even when on her other home planet, she was treated as a half-caste child. years of exposure as something almost out of place has caused Moretti to become defensive of herself. And while her actions seemed, overly violent, the 'abusive' comments made by Ensign Smith and others have gone too far. This is an experience shared by many other like herslef.' I raised my eyebrows. Whoever he was talking about, they couldn't have been of any Galactrian descent. 'Cadet Moretti, do you still attest that you acted in self-defence?'

'I do.'

'But Spock, she clearly launched herself at him as an offensive action. She deliberately was set on hurting the man.' Donovan pointed out. So much for my squadron leader sticking up for me.

'As a result of his offensive gestures towards Cadet Moretti. They cancel each other out, despite Moretti's ability to hold more power.'

'And that sort of power, which she used to her peer's disadvantage, could have killed him!'

'She has already told us she never intended on murder. While it was a thoughtless decision Moretti inflicted upon herself and Smith, we cannot blame her for succumbing to racial hatred. We are all aware of Cadet Moretti's flawless record, academically and disciplinary. She exceeds all expectations, and has kept herself-' he paused 'And her temper well in order until now.' Wait, did the Vulcan just make a joke? No way. he continued plainly, as my hair went all sorts of shades of surpise and confusion, unnoticed by the others. 'Should she be expelled from Starfleet due to this one incident, or do you think justice should prevail by giving the cadet a chance to prove herself?

.

Holy...never in my wildest frazzled genius mind had i imagined that I would one day be defended by... a Vulcan no less. His little speech brought a heavy silence to the room, one that sent my hair into a mini technicolour show. I had no idea what to make of this. I was too engaged in my own thoughts to notice the other Commanders in deep conversation, no- debate. Even the scribe had stopped his work to let them decide my fate. If the others were against Spock's logical reasoning, I would at worst get expelled from Starfleet. A lesser punishment would indicate a loss of promotion for Ensign; they couldn't really take me much further down the ranks, my Cadet position was fairly standard. I waited for goodness-knows how long for a punishment to be made. It couldn't get any worse than Galactria, I thought with a little glimmer of hope. The High Commander broke apart from the others, and cleared his throat, grabbing my attention once more.

'Cadet Esther E. Moretti, the council has reached a decision over your actions.' If I closed my eyes and prayed, it would have looked a little pathetic, so instead I kept up silent pleads in my head. Burton went on. 'While your rash thinking and strong display of violence is far from acceptable in the treatment of your fellow Starfleet workers, the council have taken into consideration the provoking comments nad displays towards you in the past, including that of your previous history...' I froze inside a little when he said that. Did they know of what had happened back on Galactria? If so, then I was sure as the sun of going down.

'But.' there's always a "but" 'Due to your previously seamless record in all areas, and the fact that you continue to work fairly well among others, we have no reason to hold you accountable for any further violent or malevolant actions. It has been noted that you acted out of pride for your anscestry and in self defence from further harm. Also that you had the self control to retract from taking any further action that may have caused more serious harm is commendable.' A few streaks of pride, relief, and a other mixed feelings had my hair and body in emotional overdrive. I could hear my heart thumping loudly in my chest; I wouldn't be surprised if the Vulcan could hear it from where he was standing. 'So, we have therefore deliberated that you, Cadet Esther E. Moretti will be put on Academic Suspension for a total period of 21 days until a further inquest decision is made, namely regarding Jason Hewitt-Smith and his associates. You shall not go near, or have any contact with said people, and we ask that you do not go about picking fights again. You have great potential Moretti, see that you do not disappoint us again. Case dismissed.'

* * *

And just like that, all the tension in my strained body left immediately, my shoulders slumping, my heart rate now in a healthier overdrive mode. My hair went from bright pink in surprise, to peach in relief and gratitude (particularly to a certain Vulcan), a few yellow streaks prominent in my happiness of no further punishment, and briefly- sky blue in wonder of how realistically I escaped with so little to lose. My silver eyes gleamed like they never had before- no longer were they hard and metallic, full of malice. But happy, no- overjoyed. I wasn't sure if my eyes were even capable of conveying such emotion, but I felt it, inside I felt the overwhelming feeling of relief that things were not as bad. This wasn't the end. I _was_ going to stay at Starfleet, I _was_ going to travel the stars, I _was_ going to get that promotion- even if it took me years, and most importantly- I _was_ most certainly going to find Pavel.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, what do ya think, eh? Tess is off the hook (for now anyway) I swear, I am getting closer to a reunion! One or two chapters away, I've got some very important stuff to get over with before then- you'll see. Reviews are much appreciated as are the other awesome subscriptions you dish out. Peace out!**

**G-4077 (Vulcan salutes) :D**


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